As Time Went By
by Miss Gems
Summary: Imperius watches as Inarius lives his life. And then he finally decides to do something about it. (Rating has been lowered. If someone thinks it should be raised again, please let me know.)
1. As We Lived

**As We Lived**

I always watched. I even tried to intervene sometimes. It never really worked as I planned.

Tyrael and Inarius' relationship was far from good. Inarius would not be half as volatile and willing to go to extremes if his brother would say more than angry reprimands to him. And Tyrael could never seem to see from the other angel's point of view.

As good of friends we are, I often found myself compelled to slap the smaller angel across the face. To pick him up and scream some sense into that cold mind of his. But that probably wouldn't work anyway.

I knew in my heart, as I watched and sought for a way to intervene and not make things worse, that no good could come of this. It could only get worse and worse, until...well, one of them will snap. And it will probably be Inarius.

I could never seem to figure out why I was so interested in Tyrael's brother. There was something...different about him, and I found I was to curious about it for my own good. Then again, for some reason, Inarius was rather small for an angeling. I loved tiny angelings.

I often tried to dedicate as much of my time as I could to being the brother Tyrael fails to be. It was surprisingly easy, when the little seraph is not upset by his brother. Inarius was very energetic and eager, but also quiet and polite. It depended on what was going on at the moment. When I trained, with or without others, Inarius always watches, silent but vibrating with exitement. When I was filling out whatever report that needs filling, he was asking many, many questions, but they were sensible, and generally pertain to the report at hand.

Then comes the day for Inarius himself to receive a more mature body, and start his training. Though I would gladly train him myself, I still try to get Tyrael to instruct his little brother. That particular conversation ends with both of us raging at the top of our lungs, and it takes Malthael to separate us. We do not speak for days. At the time, it was very odd how quickly Tyrael got upset. Now, I realize he just didn't think Inarius was ready, and, in his own strange way, was just worried that he would fail his brother.

I had come to find that Inarius was a very capable fighter, even at a young age. He had a shorter, yet sturdy build, shoulders that would one day be nearly as broad as my own, and could kick my helmet clean off my head. His wings were strong, and he was quite fast on the ground.

As Inarius grew and became one of the best fighters I had had the pleasure of training, he began to emotionally change. I suspected Tyrael had something to do with it, as the way Inarius acted was like a cross between myself and him: powerful, passionate, confident, could beat someone and knew it, but also rather cold, calculating, and impossibly calm. It was unnerving.

I knew that Inarius and Tyrael had grown no closer as the former's training went on, but I foolishly believed they had at least reached an understanding. I was wrong.

Inarius was about two thirds through his training. He was somewhat lanky, but still heavy set. In mortal terms, he would have been between eighteen and nineteen. Tyrael was himself, large, powerful, and logical as ever. It made the events both predictable, yet unlikely.

I had no idea how it happened. All I knew was that Inarius and Tyrael were openly screaming at eachother. Auriel was shouting herself, cords whirling about, trying desperately to separate the fighting brothers. Itherael was near her, seemingly entranced by all the shouting. Malthael's wings were spread as wide as they could go, and he vibrated with upset energy.

Stopping the two brothers took all four of us. I myself stood as a barricade between the two, Auriel used her cords as straight jackets, Malthael gripped Inarius' wrists, and Itherael did the same with Tyrael. I don't remember exactly how, but we got the two into separate rooms. Unfortunately, I was in the same room as Tyrael, and ten seconds later, we were heatedly arguing over what had happened, whose fault it had been, and the like. I never wanted to punch someone more in my life. It was a good thing Auriel was there.

Later that day, I was sitting with Malthael on one of Heaven's many balconies. He was mad. I had only seen him mad a few times, and never at another angel. He didn't say anything, naturally, and neither did I. I admit, I was afraid of what was happening.

No one saw Inarius for a few days after that. From what Itherael had said, he broke down and flew off. I can't honestly say I really blamed him.

When next I saw Inarius, he was throwing himself into training with more energy than I had ever seen. We came off the training grounds weary and bruised every day. It seemed to help Inarius though. I guess he had acquired my ability to calm down after a hard battle. A week later and he was back to normal.

That is, until he passed out on top of me. Well, passed out makes it seem like a bad thing happened to him. Really all he did was fall asleep really fast. Though it may not have been the best reaction, I just burst out laughing, and sat down with him sprawled against 's how Tyrael found us when Inarius failed to show up at their home at his usual time. I guess I must have fallen asleep myself at some point, because I remember him waking me up. Inarius slept right through the one-sided (I was still mostly asleep) argument that took place.

We later discovered that Inarius had developed hypersomnia. He would just fall over asleep at the oddest times. I thought it was terribly funny, but Tyrael did not agree. Especially when Inarius became a full grown, battle-ready angel. I realized why Tyrael was so upset about the whole thing; Inarius fell asleep in battle.

It was one of the most ferocious battles in a long time. We were against Azmodan, the Lord of Sin. Despite the amount of bloodshed going on, I just barely noticed Inarius swaying in mid-flight, before dropping out of the sky like a stone. He went missing after that, and no-one saw him for two days. To this day I curse myself for overlooking the possibility.

Things got worse after that. Inarius continuously disapeared, and stopped spending time with any of the archangels. I had noticed several angels, from all different virtues, often idling around him, sometimes conversing with him in hushed tones, some times with other angels. I told myself that they were only his friends. That everything was fine. That I didn't feel pain at the thought of him leaving me behind. That I shouldn't bother about it. Despite a sinking feeling in my core, I did just that - ignored it.

Maybe a month or so later, Tyrael came to me, ranting about Inarius. Something about 'How big of a fool that angel is.' and 'How could he possibly want to leave? We are in war!' Telling myself they had only had another argument, I did my best to shrug it, and the pit that was once only a sinking feeling in my core, off.

Then the Worldstone was gone. Just like that. All we had to go on was that a relatively small group of angels and demons had been skirmishing around the Pandemonium Fortress. And, seemingly with the great stone, Inarius disappeared. So did all the angels involved in the skirmish. The pit in my core was growing into a chasm.

Things got strange after demons seemed just as confused as we about the stone. When we finally realized, that they, for once, were telling the truth...

Malthael was the most affected by the whole ordeal. He would disappear into his abode for weeks on end, and those weeks grew into months, and the months stretched into years.

Tyrael and I were at a low point in our friendship. He knew something, whether it was about the stone or Inarius, and I wanted to know what. But he would not say. I felt the chasm within me grow hot, and begin to fill. By the time we saw Malthael again, three years or so later, it was full. Full of wrath.

I knew it was a problem. I knew I should tell someone. But what I didn't know was what to say. Or rather, how to say it so that they would understand. Once, I would have gone to Malthael, or Tyrael ... actually, had he still been there, I would have gone to Inarius to share this. The rage filled chasm grew.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The disappearance of the stone seemed so long ago that it was actually shocking when Tyrael brought news of it. Even more so that he brought news of Inarius, on a demon infested place called sanctuary. At first I felt relief. I felt the chasm begin to drain. I felt like everything might be okay. I was setting myself up to fall.

Inarius was mad. I could see it in eyes that once glittered with admiration, understanding, and pleasure that someone had noticed him. Now they stared back with insanity, hatred, and...amusement? Yes, when I looked closer, Inarius was laughing on the inside. Some comment by the demon lord before us was made, and that amusement spilled forward. It was...horrible. I hated it, and silenced him. The chasm began to freeze with dull horror. It was somehow worse than when it was boiling over with rage.

I entered a state of brief denial. That was not Inarius. It couldn't be.

Then Tyrael made that deal. He gave his brother to the demon. I said nothing. Because that was not Inarius; no, that was an insane traitor, who simply looked like Inarius. I knew I was being foolish. But I found I didn't care.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Tyrael was gone. But only until he came back. Malthael was gone. And he might never come back. Things became more than I could handle. I Couldn't handle myself, and the chasm that had nearly swallowed me whole by now. I was more burning Wrath and frozen Horror than passionate Valor. Deep inside I knew it. But the outside is what everyone saw, and it refused to acknowledge the fact, and was consumed by it.

When Tyrael finally did come back, he did not face my Justice. He faced my Wrath.

When the wreck of a mortal he had become came crawling into Heaven, he faced it again. And I would not try and help him. He did not deserve to speak to Valor.

Diablo was , not killed exactly, for his wretched stone remained in Heaven. But he was defeated nonetheless. And Tyrael thought he could just waltz up to Malthael's place and claim himself as Wisdom. I didn't, and still don't believe a fool can represent Wisdom. Besides, it's not like Malthael was dead. He would return through the arch if he were killed.

Within a week I am sick of Tyrael's mortal presence. At least when he was an angel, I could smack him without having to worry that I would break his neck. Or jaw. Or face. Entire skull with enough force and the right placement. It was so tempting to just end him. It scared me how hard it sometimes was to convince myself not to attack him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Somehow I ended up in a conversation with a group of the Nephalem. I tempered my more violent urges. If I ignored the lack of wings, and the odd smell that accompanied them, I found I could be mostly civil with them.

"So we asked around," said a male with a dark hood and long dark hair," and apparently Tyrael has a brother. But he won't say anything about it."

"So we asked around some more," a female with a high pony tail and intricate clothing design took up the mortal's side of the conversation, "And apparently you were the closest one to this...Inarael?"

"Inarius." I rumble automatically. I see the dark-haired male shoot a winning smirk at a large, masculine man who was scowling. The smaller mouthed something at the other, and then laughed. I seem to remember Tyrael or someone saying those two were constantly making bets with each other. Perhaps this was the case? On the name of Inarius? ...mortals.

"Ah, sorry." The woman looks a bit sheepish for a second, "So...can you tell us more about him?" And suddenly she was invading my personal space.

"Qui! Get out of the angel's personal space!" Calls another dark-haired female. She had a hood much like the dark-haired man's.

"Ah, Sorry again!" 'Qui' retreats behind a crouching man whose skin is far darker than all the others.

"Anyway...How about it? Whose this 'Inarius' fellow? He good lookin'?" askes the dark-haired man who now sported a grin. I consider him for a moment, and try to decide what, if anything, I should say about Inarius. It has been a long time since I had thought about him.

"Crow, I don't think angels define 'Good looking' the same way you do." growls the still scowling masculine man . I find myself rather amused by the group. Despite my dislike of the species, they are...interesting in their own way.

That's wonderful Imperius. Your amused and interested by the Nephalem. Why don't you tear out your own wings and join Tyrael on their little mudiball?

"For all the yelling you were doing earlier," says the female called Qui, "you're pretty quiet."

"I am thinking." I snap.

"About Inarius?" She asks excitedly. The other Nephalem zero in on me, now that their original goal had been restated. It's...unnerving. Like Inarius.

I let out a sigh,"Yes, about Tyrael's younger brother. They-"

"Younger!" The masculine man roars in Crow's face. The smaller looks cross, but as if he had been half expecting it. Either way, I am annoyed.

"Yes, younger." I growl, and the large man has the decency to look embarrassed. "They did not have the best relationship though."

The dark haired woman looks intrigued. "Really? What was their relationship then?"

"...Strained." the woman eyes me as if she wants to hear more. I consider my words again.

"Inarius loved Tyrael, simply because they were made of similar resonances and light- they were brothers. Probably still does, the stubborn idiot. Tyrael...I refuse to accept he felt nothing towards his brother, but he did not ever show much more than distaste for Inarius." The Nephalem all stare. Some look disbelieving, and if they think I am lying. My wings burn a bit brighter in annoyance, an angel's version of a glare.

"I have witnessed very few tender moments between them. More often than not, Tyrael was raging mad at something or another Inarius had done. Of course, Inarius never meant for it to be that way."

"...It sounds like Tyrael is the bad guy here." Crow comments. His larger companion nods in agreement.

"Tyrael may be a hero to you now, but back then? He'd have been quicker to put you to death than even me. He was very rigid, strict, and did not appreciate his brother's constant desire for can probably imagine our shock when he chose humanity over his own people. He is still technically labeled a traitor to Heaven for that."

"Why should we believe all that that?" Qui demanded. At the same time, the dark haired woman wondered aloud at Tyrael being a traitor.

"I don't lie. If you refuse to believe me, then go ask Auriel or Itherael. You could even ask Tyrael himself. The only reason Tyrael is allowed to walk around freely is because I bent the law so he would not be thrown in a prison till he dies. Haven't you noticed that one of the council is always supervising him?" I idly wondered if I should tell them that I hadn't just bent the law, I had broken it.

"But, if Tyrael is-er, was-Justice, wouldn't he know that he was becoming a, criminal, by doing what he did?" Crow wondered.

"You'd have to take it up with him, but I suspect he believed he wasn't coming back here." The thought angered me. Tyrael was ready to abandon everything, even though he had to have known he could have gotten out of it. Maybe in a great deal of trouble, but there wasn't much we would do to him. I still considered him my friend, after all. I was uncertain about what he considered me though. That thought replaced the anger with sadness.

"Hey," said the muscular man,"We kinda got off topic here."

"Rehn is correct." The dark-skinned crouching-man spoke up for the first time. Qui nodded in agreement .

"What happened to Inarius? I think I heard Auriel say something about him creating Sanctuary?" Crow looked a bit awestruck as the words left his mouth.

"That is what happened. He left Heaven with a score of angels and demons and you and your world are the result." I found myself snarling the words through clenched denta. The Nephalem looked concerned.

"So..." Qui timidly began," If he created our world...where is he? Tyrael is the only angel I've ever heard of on Sanctuary." The other mortals nodded in agreement.

"Inarius was sent to Hell so that your world would not be torn apart by Heaven and Hell at the time. He is still there." It became hard not to lift my wings and let them radiate heat at the anger those words came with.

"Hell?" Rehn murmured.

"He's still there you say? Why? Surely someone like him would help with the whole, 'Angels and Men' thing." Crow put his voice forward. And I found myself stalling. Why was Inarius still in Hell? It wasn't like he was being used to barter for Sanctuary's safety anymore. Diablo had made that quite clear. And, shoot me for even thinking it, but the mortal had a point. Inarius had been a councilor and adviser for a good part of his life, and given his connections with both factions, he would be a nearly perfect link. Tyrael's being mortal was all well and good, but Inarius was the Father of the Nephalem, and had lived with them for far longer than Tyrael had even known about them.

Which brought up another, admittedly random, thought: Tyrael seemed to be having a difficult time with his crash-course in mortality. There were things he just didn't get, and no-one seemed to be able to adequately explain them. I almost felt bad about it, but he had brought it upon himself. And he was being a fool about it. Inarius had a knack for (bluntly-very bluntly) explaining things like that. It was an ability I sometimes envied him.

"Hey Imperius? Hello? Hellooooooo?" I was snapped out of my musings by the dark-haired woman, and found all the mortals, and some others who had joined the group, eyeing me in concern once more.

"No real reason. Not anymore." I said, still focused on Crow's question. It took the gathered Nephalem a moment to realize what I meant.

"Well, why don't you or Tyrael or someone go get him? Heck, we could go get him if you just point us in the right direction." A man who looked much like Qui spoke up.

"I..." Go get Inarius? The idea...was appealing. Compelling even. And I had no idea why. I stared at the Nephalem, and they stared back.

"...I think you broke him Fen." Qui mutters to the man who gave the suggestion. The mortal, Fen, looks panicked.

"I am not broken!" I snap. I need to stop having those reveries. Qui puts her hands up in surrender.

"If I suggest we go get Inarius again, you not going to faint or something, right?" The mortal has to duck to dodge, not my spear, but the arm of a large woman with fiery red hair. He is not comepletely successful and the swipe knocks his head sideways. I like this woman.

"I have not considered Inarius in some time. But it would be...nice...to speak with him once again." I don't mention that the reason I have not thought of Inarius in so long is because I fear confronting what he was at the end of the Sin Wars again.

The mortals are ecstatic at the statement, and I find myself very confused at the chaos that overtakes them. They scatter after a bit of squabbling, charging off with shouts of "We'll meet back here!" "Okay then!" "I'll get Kormac!" "Grab the other two if you can!" "Should we tell Tyrael?" "Nah. Let's surprise him!" with someone's cry of "But It's his brother!" and "He'll freak the heck out! It'll be awesome!" all mixed together.

I myself take a quick trip to see the other council members, and explain that I need right myself, and will be outside the Heavens to do so. I tell them this may take some time, as a means to explain my upcoming absence. Whether they believe me or not, I don't particularly care, because it doesn't matter-I am not really lying. Inarius had been one of three angels who kept me as Valor and not Wrath. And he was in Hell - well outside of Heaven.

Ten minutes later, I'm once again surrounded by Nephalem. Only this time they resemble a small army, as opposed to a gaggle of featherless geese.

"Well? Let's go!" Shouts Qui.

And the chasm that was once frozen in horror and hot with wrath, seems to finally begin to close. It will be good to see Inarius again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	2. As We Went

**As We Went**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Travelling through Hell with Nephalem to bring back Inarius ... I began to wonder if I had gone insane after the attack on Heaven. Because really, it was one of the last things I should be doing. Yet there I was, hacking through demons in the realm of Hate, searching for any clue as to the where-abouts of Inarius, who was a traitor to Heaven no less, with at least ten Nephalem in the general area. Yes, I must have gone mad at some point.

But I also found I was...tired, for lack of a better word. Tired of being angry, tired of hating, tired of what my life had become ever since the Worldstone's disappearance all that time ago. I also realized I didn't care about a lot of things.

When a Nephalem would come near enough that either of us could reach out and touch, I did nothing. When Qui, who along with Fen, was a wizard, asked many, many questions, I either answered them, or was silent. I found I even began to prefer the company of Rehn, a barbarian, and Terra, a female Monk, as apposed to Crow or Fen.

The stupid Nephalem had grown on me. I didn't know how, or when, but sometime between when we set out into Hell and now, they had invaded my life, and made their own personal spots in it.

At first I was horrified, and a little enraged. It lasted about an hour, maybe two. After that, I was frightened. The only person I had never stayed angry around at for longer than three hours was Inarius. Malthael beat him by twenty minutes.

After I came to terms with that, my emotions stagnated. I didn't care, about anything really. Except for maybe getting Inarius back, but we were already quite close to that goal, so it held little of my focus. Instead I focused on the demons.

Diablo's assault had not completely emptied Hell as we had believed. There were the other five Sin Lords to consider after all, their minions, plus any other demons scrounging about. Hacking through things had always helped me think, and it was no different this time. The realm of Hate was still less populated than it had ever been however.

Mephisto's citadel is the least populated place we've visited so far. So few demons are around, that we split up into two different groups of seven. One group heads upward to look in the main quarters of the Hell-hole, and the other heads deeper into the fortress. To my silent despair, I am part of the second group. Being an angel, going where the sky cannot be seen is unpleasant at best. Sometimes an angel will go mad if underground for to long.

But as the archangel of Valor, I say nothing to the mortals. Being weak is one thing I can deal with. Being seen as weak is something that I simply cannot allow.

I try to keep the thoughts of the tons of rock poised so carefully over our heads at bay. If I don't think about it, I can get through it. I had done it before.

Surprisingly, having the Nephalem along helps. They are far from silent, and having so many voices speaking as cheerfully as if they were simply strolling along back in the Heavens is more comforting than I care to admit. The group had been carrying on a conversation the entire time in Hell, and being halved did not end the chatter. It only added comments like "You'll have to ask Lynara. She's from that area." "Remind me to tell Fen!" and "I wish I could see Alei's reaction to that!" and such.

I don't know exactly how long we wander around, before we come to some sort of... ancient torture chamber? There are pits of smoldering coals, chains, whips, and any kind of weaponry (most of which was rusted). The mortals have stalled their conversation. I think it might have something to do with the amount of blood and fluids on everything. I don't blame them for being disturbed.

Unanimously, we decide to follow the biggest trail of blood. To my horror, most of it is angel's blood. I have a sickening feeling that I know just who all the blood came from.

Following the trail we come to a one-entranced room. In the center, there is what appears to be a cell. None of us had ever seen a construct quite like it. It seemed to be made of clear glass, but through it we could see the inside, and it was all mirrors. It was also very durable, as Rehn quickly found out.

In the middle of the mirror-glass cell, a lone figure sat, still as a statue. He stared at nothing, even though he was reflected a million times over within that cell. His eyes, which once glowed with orange fire, were dull and dead. The right was even an inky black color, that seemed to glint with darkness. The other had a slit for a pupil, much like a cat's, though it glowed yellow.

The being's skin was very much visible, as most (but not all) of his armor had been stripped away. It was black, but lit from within with a dyeing fire. Standing out from the skin were hundreds of cuts, burns, bruises, and places where the skin had simply been ripped open. Dried up blood was cached on everything.

Surprisingly, this wreck of a person still had wings. They were small, and did not look like they could lift the being to his feet even, but they were still there. They were pale, and seemed to have some sort of darker frame about them. But the color of them, however dim, was unmistakable.

Inarius was the one who sat in that cell of mirror-glass. I wished I could be alone, and just scream.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Everyone was quickly becoming fed up with the damn cell. We hadn't figured out how to get in yet - nothing we tried worked. Qui tried to teleport in and only slammed into the glass. Inarius didn't seem to notice. The cell must have been sound proof. That or he didn't care.

Rehn had already confirmed it would be very difficult to break open. As far as anyone could tell, none of the pane's of glass had hinges of any kind. Which meant there had to be either an invisible door, or some sort of portal. If Malthael had been there, he could have figured it out by now.

"Okay, so we've got a stubborn glass box with an angel inside, and us on the outside. And we need to get into the box to get the angel out. But we have no clue how to do that." Crow complained. Rehn promptly told him to can it. Whatever that meant, Crow didn't seem pleased.

"I have a thought." Theo spoke up, "Maybe we should call the others? They may know something- Eirena is good with illusions and the like." Qui beamed at him, clearly impressed.

"But how should we go about it? It would be unwise to send one person alone, and even more so to divide into smaller groups." Terra replied. I was inclined to agree.

"Ah, tis simple!" Theo declared, "I will send one or two of my mongrels! They are able trackers. Alei will know what they come for."

The other Nephalem didn't take long to agree. We watched in morbid curiosity as he called up three of his beasts, and sent two away. The other sat patiently at it's master's feet.

I turned back to Inarius' cell, and found he had shifted. He was staring in the direction of Theo with that glittering black eye. Or rather, staring at his mongrel. It was strange, and logically impossible, but I had the feeling he could see the beast. Through the mirror-glass.

"Theo." the witch doctor spun to face me, as I turned to him. "Bring your dog over here." At first he looked surprised, but then he saw Inarius, and his staring eyes. The dark man edged closer, as did the rest of the Nephalem. The mongrel followed it's master, and Inarius' gaze remained locked on it. Well, half of his gaze anyway. The other eye was half-lidded, while the black one was wide. Though I couldn't tell if it was by choice or not-that side of his face was mangled.

"So, wait, can he see us?" Qui, sounded intrigued, if a bit alarmed.

"No, I don't think so." I slowly replied. "There is something about that eye."

"He stares after my mongrel. Does it fascinate him?" Theo asked.

"Perhaps he can only see your beast." Terra offered. Rehn seemed to agree.

"Woah." Qui squealed. I regarded her with caution.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It didn't take very long for the others to join us, surprisingly. Apparently they had finished their sweep, and had been coming to find us anyway. They had all stared in shock at Inarius, who in turn stared at the other two of Theo's mongrels. He seemed uneasy about their presence, and that made me uneasy.

"So? Any ideas?" Crow called the the others. Neif, a monk, walked over, feeling the many edges and sides of the mirror-glass structure. He circled the entire structure, before shaking his head, seemingly in confusion.

"Were it a mortal structure I could shatter it easily. This, however, is demonic in nature. I cannot find a way in." He looked...disappointed in himself.

"Well, there has to be a way in!" Qui shouted, clearly upset,"I mean, look at all this blood! It's that angel's blood! And it's everywhere."

"Perhaps the demons simply phased through the wall?" Lyndon the Scoundrel offered.

"They would have had to take Inarius out though. I'm not sure they could bring him through the wall with them without his own effort." Fen replied. An argument broke out after he made this comment.

Though I had grown more than tolerant of their presence, I found I could never stay close when they were squabbling for very long. The discord generated from these arguments was a reflection of their demonic heritage, and I never reacted well to it. So, I decided to put distance between us.

Had there been more space, I would have remained corporeal, but the room had a low ceiling where savage barbed chains dangled. So, I assumed my core form. And Inarius skittered back, staring at me.

The Nephalem snapped to attention, eyes flicking to me, to Inarius, and back again. Silence stretched over us.

And was promptly shattered when Inarius abruptly scrambled to his feet, still staring at me. His eyes darted to Theo's mongrels briefly, but then remained fixed upon my core for the most part.

The Nephalem began shouting again, and I weaved back and forth above them. Inarius continued to stare, never turning his eyes away. Or rather, his eye. It was the black eye that really followed me, as if he could only see me through it. I wondered how and why his eyes were hetero-chromatic.

The angel in the mirror-cell began gesturing wildly. He seemed to be pointing up, but I wasn't sure. The mortals were all shouting now, trying to guess at what he wanted, and telling me to try different things.

I reverted to my physical form, but was only met by more frantic gesturing, and the angel staring around wildly. Back to spiritual it was. He calmed down noticeably, but was still doing a rather complicated game of charades. At one point, he even grabbed one of the chains embedded in his back, and lifted it, before waving his arms up and down again. It didn't help much though.

Finally, Inarius seemed to get fed up, and turned to the mirrors behind him. He brought one of his hands up to his mouth, and to everyone's horror, chomped his index finger open with his molars. He then began to write something on the mirror. With his own blood. One or two of the mortals below me put a hand to their mouths.

"The Chains above you" the message read.

Oh. Of course.

After a pause, I assumed physical form, and floated up to the many barbed chains dangling from the ceiling.

"Okay, that's all well and good. What about the chains?" Qui asked. She seemed shaken.

"Maybe pulling on one activates a gateway of some form?" Eirena suggested.

"Perhaps." Neif replied to her. "But which one?"

Hmm. Nothing for it but to do it. I thought. Reaching out, I took a number of the chains into my grasp, and pulled. Nothing.

"Oh." Neif muttered. I merely tested another group. Nothing.

A few more tries, and I finally found it. With a tug, the chain activated a hidden mechanism. We watched as a panel of glass slid into the floor, and gave entry to the mirror-cell. I floated to the ground, and peered inside.

Inarius stared back, tattered wings hugging his frame, one hand wrapped around his still bleeding finger.

"Shouldn't we, y'know," Crow uncertainly spoke up "get him and leave?" The other mortals seemed to agree.

I let out a sigh, "Yes. But let me go to him." They all nodded in understanding.

Inarius had craned his neck forward, and tilted his head slightly. I looked back to him, and started forward. I didn't know what to expect from him, I only knew that even chained and emaciated, he could still be dangerous if he wanted to be.

"Imperius?" his voice, though a whisper, raspy and weak, still held a hint of it's musical lilt. "You are really...here? I am not...not asleep?"

"I am here Inarius." my own voice seemed far more certain and confident than I felt. "Unless, by some trick, we are both asleep." the smaller angel regarded me with surprise for a moment, before a smile so small I wasn't sure I hadn't imagined it graced his lips.

When I came closer to the smaller angel, he came forward as well, and planted both hands firmly on my armored chest. I blinked down at him, as he kneaded slightly, seeming to be trying to make sure I wasn't going to just disintegrate or something. I patiently waited for him to finish his confirmations, and considered how best to remove all the hooks imbedded in his body. It didn't look like something I could do with minimum damage to the already damaged seraph.

"Inarius, I need to get the chains out of you." I told the angel, and he glanced up at me, knowing I had more to say. "But I cannot get them out myself. There are mortals here, they can help."

"Mortals? In Hell? Why would there be mortals here? " He seemed genuinely puzzled, and I realized he might not be completely aware of what was going on.

"We came here to get you." Qui, who stood in the entrance, spoke up. She bit her lip, and went very still when Inarius turned is stare towards her. He seemed somewhat confused by her, and glance back to me. I merely shrugged at him.

"Could any of you get the chains out of him? I'd do it myself, but I'd probably hurt him." the Mortals debated for a moment, before Terra and Eirena came forward, and then circled around. Inarius twisted to watch them, but didn't seem very alarmed. Then again, I was standing right in front of him. I liked to think he felt safe in my presence.

Terra and Eirena were quick, and as careful as possible. Inarius didn't react, even when one of their hands slipped, and jerked one of the hooks out, causing blood to spill down his back. For some reason, this disturbed everyone, Eirena in particular.

When the last chain was pulled out, Inarius ruffled his dingy wings, and took a few edgy shuffles way from the pile of rusted mettle. Eirena seemed paler than normal, and Terra was faintly muttering under her breath. It sounded like she was trying to calm herself. Neif offered to meditate with her later. Kormac offered his ta-bard to clean both the women's hands off, and they gratefully accepted.

Inarius kept shooting glances over his shoulders, as if trying to see the holes left by the hooks. I touched his shoulder, and he twisted to stare into my helm. He looked as if to be debating something, before he sighed, and dropped his gaze. The coppery seraph adopted an annoyed look, though it quickly fell into one of lethargy.

I didn't realise it was his hypersomnia kicking in until he fell into my chest, sleeping like the dead. His eyes remained open, but they sort of glazed over, and the pupil in the left eye vanished. I instinctively caught the limp, seemingly weightless frame, and everything stood still for a second.

Seconds later, the situation overcame me, and I burst out laughing. The mortals stared, and looked very uncomfortable. Though it took a minute or two, a managed to fight the outburst of mirth down.

"Um, okay, what?" Fen asked.

With a sigh, I explained "Inarius has had hypersomnia for most of his life. I was overcome by the circumstances. My apologies."

The mortals were silent, before Qui snickered quietly. Then suddenly tension broke and everyone one was laughing as if the funniest joke ever told had been made. Inarius, for his part, didn't move a muscle.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After we finished our giggling, we moved out of the fortress. Inarius slept through majority of the trip, secured in my arms. It was rather scary how little the seraph weighed. Almost all of it was in his armor, and there wasn't much of that either.

When we finally reached the nearest way-point (which wasn't actually close enough to be considered 'near') we ran into a dilemma: where should we take Inarius?

Though I was loath to admit it, I didn't think he would be very welcome in the Heavens. Hell, had I not been the one to rescue him, I would probably oppose his return completely. Pandemonium was a war ground-crawling with demons and a scattering of angels. Some even believed Malthael was there. No, Pandemonium would not do.

That only left Sanctuary. This, however, was not a perfect solution. I wanted to be able to see Inarius as , but it would attract unwanted attention if the Archangel of Valor began taken random joy-flies down to the mortal's little mud-ball. I didn't really see any alternatives though.

The Nephalem were all about the idea of having Inarius stay with them. From the moment they'd heard about him, it seemed they were all infatuated with their creator. They all, in their own ways, proved just how much they were interested in the angel over the course of the days we'd fought through Hell, and when we'd finally found him, they clustered around me closer than ever.

Surprisingly, I didn't mind their closeness. I would never say it flat out, but I had grown...attached to these Nephalem. I had begun to even think of them as 'my Nephalem' rather than 'the Nephalem.' I would be alarmed by this, but I had already done that.

I came to the conclusion that I couldn't readily visit Inarius on Sanctuary without telling the others about him. For some reason, I was very reluctant to reveal his presence. Especially to Tyrael. I still wouldn't trust him with something as simple as walking through Heaven, let alone with his brother. Which was really an odd mindset, but oh well.

I would have to leave him to the Nephalem. It hurt, but I couldn't see any other solution. If Heaven knew of him, he would not be safe. And so I would have to pretend I had never found him.

We had more pressing concerns though. When we finally touched down in New Tristram (The Nephalem had more or less taken up residence there) I realized that we -I- had overlooked something huge: Inarius' wounds. He was a mess, to say the least. A medic's worst nightmare was a little more accurate.

A mortal healer wouldn't be able to do much for Inarius, so that left an angel. I briefly considered Auriel, but if she found out about Inarius, Itherael would know, and they would probably tell Tyrael. And the rest of the High Heavens. No, not Auriel. He needed someone who was competent, but would keep a secret like this-trouble was, in my experience, healer's with experience tended to have a lot of patients. It couldn't be someone whose absence would be noted.

Then it hit me. I knew exactly who could help.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Inarius awoke once I put him down in the bed. The room we were in was a little small, but it was cozy and secluded. I laid him carefully on his front. Though he was damaged everywhere, his back was the worst.

I was glad he woke up himself-I didn't want to leave without telling him.

"I will be back." He looked up at me, a blank look in his eyes.

"From where?"

"I have to leave. But I will come back." I pressed on before he could comment about my not answering his question. "The Nephalem will not harm you. They are friends. They can help."

Inarius seemed to consider this, before shrugging. "As long as you come back." and then he twisted his head around, and buried his face in his wings. It didn't look comfortable to me, but what did I know?

Before I left, I had to address the Nephalem. Keeping Inarius bedridden could be troublesome if he woke up and decided I wasn't back fast enough.

"When he starts getting restless, give him these" I handed a pad of paper and a pencil (purloined from Itherael, but they didn't need to know that) to Qui "and just sit back and talk or something. He'll keep himself busy, as long as there is something to think about."

"Why not just give them to him right away?" Crow asked sensibly.

"Because he goes through paper like you go through demons. Use it as a last resort."

"What should we do before hand?" Lynara asked, twisting a lock of red hair idly.

"Like I said: talk to him. About anything-your something new and different, and he's a sucker for new things."

"Alright. We can do this. It's not like you'll be gone for weeks or something." Qui chirped.

"I wonder if Inarius would be willing to speak to us in turn?" Eirena wondered. "I should like to know about Sanctuary from before even I was born."

As the Nephalem began to debate what to talk to Inarius about, I turned away. I had somewhere to be, and the faster I got there, the faster I'd get back. Then something popped into my head.

"Nephalem?" the mortals all snapped to attention. "I feel I should warn you that Inarius is the living definition of 'unpredictable'. Also, he may or may not request the materials necessary to light a number of things on fire. If he starts requesting odd things at odd times, don't give them to him. Just say you don't have them or something."


	3. As They Came

**As They Came**

I had to enter Heaven through the Courts of Justice, of all places. No one was there since we had no Justice. In any place else I would have been seen, and I didn't want that to happen. It was rather odd to have to hide from my brethren, a little sad, yet a little...exiting. I was feeling childish.

The Gardens of Hope were hit hard in Diablo's assault, and it is still regrowing. This did not silence it's energies however. I should walk in the Gardens more often.

The angel I was looking for lived in a rather sparsely populated area of the Gardens, but that made my reaching her all that easier. Her abode looks the same as it always has: plain yet practical, not beautiful but not terrible. It was about the size of a mortal apartment, though it had it's own yard.

I easily strode up to the entrance, and knocked politely. It wouldn't due to accidentally scuff her door.

It was rather amusing the way she stood there when the door opened, if predictable. I was probably one of the last people she expected to see.

"Might I come in Lenedial? I'm trying not to be seen here." I did my best to keep the snicker out of my voice.

She nodded jerkily, and moved out of the way. When I entered, I realized Lenedial was not alone. Sitting on her desk was Nepherah, the Tiny Angel. Her yellow wings fluttered in greeting, and she tipped her masked face. I had always found Nepherah to be a rather bizarre. She somewhat resembled the Witch doctors, both in appearance and way of fighting. Rather than just a dagger however, the pixie also used some very large weapons-and I did not say large lightly. It was Usually Masserschmidt's Reaver and Scorn, but sometimes The Blade of Prophecy and Scourge. Any of them were at least as large as she. On her wrists she kept a pair of well-worn assassin's claws.

"W-what brings you here Imperius?" Lenedial finally found her voice. Her ultra-violet wings pulsed slightly.

"You know I was gone from Heaven for a time, yes?" they nodded, "Well, I need your help with what -who- I found."

"You found someone? Who?" Nepherah's voice was, rather surprisingly, not high pitched. It was low and pleasant, though it did not rumble. If I had to compare it to an instrument, it would be the Melophone.

"Inarius." Silence reigned for a few moments.

"...by the light..." Lenedial finally murmured. Then "Wait. What does this have to do with me?"

I gave her a flat look. "What do you think someone who has been locked away in Hell needs?"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"How bad is it?"

"If I didn't know better I would think he was a corpse."

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"He is covered in burns, bruises, his skin is raw, he's probably got more infections than someone can live with, and his back is horrendous. I'm amazed he could still stand. He really shouldn't be alive."

Lenedial sat back for a moment, as if trying to process what she would need for such a job.

"You should probably just bring everything. It sounds like you'll need it." Nepherah gave her opinion.

"You're probably right. Let me get my things." And Lenedial scurried off into her closet. I was briefly left alone with Nepherah.

"You're not gonna make me stay behind are you?" she turned to gaze at me, and I realized that she was missing an eye. When had that happened? "I don't want to stay back knowing he is alive."

I sighed. "No, I won't make you stay behind. But you may wish you had."

And suddenly I was glomped by a squealing pixie. Well, as best as a four foot angel could glomp me. It was rather comical.

"You know," Lenedial had appeared from the doorway "you two look adorable like that."

"She's a tiny angel, and I'm a massive angel. What do you expect?" Lenedial just laughed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

To my relief, nothing was on fire when we got back to Sanctuary. Nepherah seemed to be having trouble containing herself, judging by the way she darted about in her core form. Lenedial stayed rather close to me, having never been to the mortal realm before.

The Nephalem had taken over a house that was slightly apart from the others. It was large enough for them to all sleep in if need be, which was my guess as to why they had taken it in the first place.

Upon entering, Rehn was heatedly arguing with Crow about something or the other, as Neif and Terra meditated in a corner. They barely looked up at our entrance.

"Hey, You're back!" Qui came down the stairs that led to their respective bedrooms. She looked as if she'd just woken up.

"Yes, and I brought help." Lenedial waved shyly, and Nepherah fluttered her wings. The latter seemed entranced by Rehn and Crow.

Qui let out a squeak, and teleported down to us. "Who are they!?" Lenedial scrambled back, and Nepherah jerked to stare in the Nephalem's direction.

"Lenedial and Nepherah" I pointed to each in turn, "Lenedial is a medic, and fairly skilled. Nepherah wanted to come along."

"Hiya! I'm Qui, those two" she pointed at the still arguing demon hunter and barbarian, "are Crow and Rehn, and them two," she gestured at the two monks in the corner, "are Neif and Terra. C'mon, Inarius is up-stairs."

Inarius was about where I left him, with one difference:he had completely flipped himself, and was focused on a very detailed drawing of a sleeping Fen.

"Well" Lenedial said from beside me, "I should probably take a look at him."

Inarius didn't even look up as she started her work.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	4. As We Idled

**As We Idled**

It had been four days and Inarius had proven to have more problems than the whole town of New Tristram put together. I suppose it was to be expected, but it was still alarming. Every day Lenedial was finding new afflictions. I almost regretted asking for her help-not because she was doing a bad job, no. She was actually doing far more than I had hoped. It was because she was quickly becoming fatigued.

The smaller angel had thrown herself into the task with a fervor more commonly seen in battle-hungry angels of valor. She was up at all hours, working away at Inarius' many, many wounds. Nepherah was almost always with her-while not a medic, the smaller angel's quick, nimble fingers had proved to be quite helpful.

The Nephalem were also doing their best to help. There was usually at least one or two of them picking around the room Inarius occupied, doing whatever was asked of them. It was usually keeping Inarius occupied, as he had quickly become restless. Now that he was free of his prison, he seemed to want to get up and see what he'd missed. Between the mortals and I, we had kept him down so far though.

I knew my time on Sanctuary was drying up. I was making the most of it, trying to help with Inarius, or training with the Nephalem. I had quickly noticed that they didn't seem to grasp the concept of 'teamwork'. They all more or less did their own thing, sometimes with the other mortal who was from their respective class, but usually alone. This would not do.

There were at least ten Nephalem, plus the group of merchants, artisans, and companions that traveled with them. While I didn't worry to much about the merchants and artisans, the rest of the group would need to be honed. So that was what I set out to do.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"No Qui, stay _behind_ Lynara" I shouted at the frustrated looking wizard.

"But I'll end up hitting her with my spells." she complained back.

"That's why you stand to the right. You're behind her, but over a little. Yes, right there." The wizard looked around a bit, and a sheepish look crossed her face.

"This...actually Will probably work better."

I just shook my head. "This goes for you and Neif as well Fen." the male wizard circled around his respective monk, and finally picked a spot to the patient man's rear left.

"Alright, now try again, and remember: no friendly fire." I nodded to Nepherah, who had come down to help with the Nephalem. She gestured towards the ground, and five or so shadowy figures reared up. They were similar to the witch doctor's mongrel's in shape, but that was about it. Rather than actual flesh, they seemed to be pure energy constructs.

Lynara and Neif charged forward, while the wizards trotted after them, fanning out slightly. When the barbarian and monk reached the enemies, they struck towards the center of the mob. Qui and Fen shot at the ones on the edges of the frenzy. The scrimmage was over in minutes.

"Wow. That worked, like, really well." Qui muttered, glancing at me. I snickered at her.

On the other side of the Old Cathedral we'd claimed as training grounds, Crow and Rehn were working on timing there attacks. Crow had become quite good at strafing and vaulting. Rehn was getting better at the whirlwind and leap skills. They had decided, with a bit of my persuasion, that this had potential. They looked to be stumped by something at the moment though.

"Have them try different tactics. See what happens when you pair them up differently." Nepherah nodded to me, and began to address the Nephalem. Over the course of their training, they Nephalem had started to respect the tiny angel. I found it rather amusing to be honest.

I headed over to Rehn and Crow, and both looked relieved to see me.

"Imperius, we're a bit stuck here." Rehn told me.

"I noticed." my tone was neutral, but they knew I was amused. "What's the matter this time?"

"Okay, so we've got the timing right. We can get it down from just about any angel, no matter how far apart. However, when we go to act without talking about what we're gonna do first, it doesn't work." Crow gave me a run down.

"So you need some form of on-field communication?" that was easier said than done. Battles were were very loud and messy. Fortunately for them, I had run into the issue before. I found it interesting that Inarius had been theone to come up with the solution.

"How loud can you two whistle?" Crow and Rehn stared at me. "Well?"

"Um..." The duo shared a look, and Crow shrugged.

Finally, the slighter of the two put his fingers to his mouth. Fwweeeeee!

"Hm. It's loud, but you'll need to work on length. There is a language the angels have developed for this, but I'm not sure how many of the different noises a mortal could make. You should probably talk to Inarius about it."

The two Nephalem, originally skeptical, finally caught on. A massive grin split Crow's face, and, in a show of strength, began to drag Rehn in the direction of their house. I hoped they wouldn't get in Lenedial's way.

Up in the Cathedral, Theo and Ehrie were attempting to out-stalk each other. Both witch doctor and demon hunter were using all their best techniques to find the other, and stay hidden themselves. I wanted to go and check on them, but I knew better than to interrupt them.

Looking around, I was quite satisfied with how things were going. The Nephalem were shaping into a very fine group of warriors.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I finally decided to chase Lenedial away from Inarius' side for a day. The female angel needed to rest, and rest she would. Unsurprisingly, she was sound asleep the moment she layed down on a convenient couch. Nepherah had already taken over a chair that was placed beside the couch, and settled into it, probably to make sure no one woke Lenedial.

Inarius was carefully stretching out his right wing when I entered his room. He slowly folded it back up, no doubt to keep from jarring anything. Restless as he was, the smaller seraph wouldn't undo any of Lenedial's hard work.

"I like that bird man you keep around." he began conversationally. "He and his large friend are a good pair." Bird man? Large friend? ...Crow and Rehn.

"Well that's a relief. Now that you've spoken to them they will probably not leave you alone. Although he is not actually a bird." I made my way over to one of the chairs that had migrated into his room.

"He's not? But his name is Crow! He looks like one too." Inarius gave me a baffled look. His eyes seemed rather unfocused, and glassy. I leaned forward to see them better, and after a moment, he mimicked me.

"You are drugged." I concluded. Inarius just stared at me with a blank look on his face. I sighed, and reached out to brush some of his hair away from his eyes. He leaned into the touch, and his eyes narrowed, his version of closing them. A throaty purr built in his chest. A moment later he slumped down, fast asleep.

Carefully, I rearranged him until he was in a position that would not disturb any of his healing wounds. One of the tendrils that made up his tattered wings somehow wormed it's way around my wrist, and refused to let go. Looked like I wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

With nothing better to do, I tilted by head so that my helm and armor would keep it from lolling to the side. I was asleep faster than I would have thought.

In the hallway, a passing Terra stopped to observe for a moment, before smiling and closing the door.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Originally, this would have been chapter 2 of my little story her. But with help from Utam6, chapter 1 was split into three chapters, instead of one monster chapter.

This is a kind of fluffy one-shot chapter thing that wouldn't leave me alone. Alternatively titled **'The Angels All Take A Nap.' **But that didn't really fit with the other names. I am aware that Imperius is totally OOC in this. And frankly I don't really care. Fluffy Imperius is fluffy :P

Note: At the end, Inarius is drugged for medicle purposes.


	5. As We Were Calm

**As We Were Calm**

I was amused to find that Inarius had found a friend. I often found the wiry old man Shen chattering away while Inarius attempted to chatter back. Neither seemed to really notice that Inarius didn't always speak a mortal language. Indeed, the many trills, twitters, chirps, and notes of musical sound native to angels wound their way into his speech. Shen either didn't notice, or didn't care. Or maybe he could understand them somehow. He was an odd sort after all.

Just now he was going on about the many different shades of one type of gem. Inarius was listening intently, and scribbling away at a thick, empty tome one of the mortals, I think it was Theo, found. Sitting on a nearby end-table was an assortment of rubies. Every so often the Jeweler would pick one up and point out some feature or another.

I watched Inarius reach out and carefully take one of the gems in his stubby fingers. He almost dropped it, as he was missing his finger tips. Apparently, he had made some demon or another angry, and the brute had bit them off. On his left hand, all the tips but his thumb were gone, and his entire ring finger was missing. On his right hand, only the last two were maimed. I myself could not imagine how much it must have hurt to have them taken off.

"You know," Shen was saying, "that just about everyone here seems to think that I am somehow a god?" Inarius twitched one of the two wing shaped feelers that came out from beneath his chakra gem.

"You and the other angels are the only ones who aren't always asking after it." Shen continued on, "It's quite a nice change really. Everyone else seems so certain they are right, yet you've never once made any assumption."

"Why would I do that?" Inarius followed up the question with a warble and trill that explained exactly what 'that' was.

"Oh, I don't know. You never have so I can't say."

"It doesn't really matter to me what you are. I like you. You're a nice person." His speech was peppered with the many sounds of an angel, defining words, such as 'it' 'what' 'nice' and 'person'. Shen seemed rather pleased by this.

"I have been wondering," Shen decided it was time to change the subject "about those bits of metal on your forehead." indeed, he was gazing intently at the little gold diamond and the two feelers. The appendages twitched, and vibrated finely.

"My chakra gem and feelers you mean?" This time the angel spoke only in a mortal tongue.

"Oh, it is a chakra gem! I had suspected, but didn't want to make assumptions."

"Mm, yes. Only the gem is metal though. My feelers may look like metal, but they are more like my wings than anything." Inarius gestured to the metal frames around said wings. Shen nodded in fascination.

"Might I ask why you have one of those curious gems?"

"I...I Don't know." Inarius looked rather taken aback by the statement. I decided to intervene.

"Inarius was given his gem when he was very small." I found it amusing that both angel and man looked at me as if I had been participating in the conversation the whole time. "He had some rather...peculiar Abilities. The council found this alarming, to say the least. It was Malthael who found the solution of the chakra gem. It has kept those abilities in place his whole life."

Inarius twitched his wings, and then reached up to fondle his gem.

"Well, isn't that why most people have chakra gems? To keep strange powers in check?" Shen asked.

"Indeed."

"Then what were his powers?"

"Inarius was able to do many different things. I can't say I remember all of them, but the one that stands out is an ability to create and control a very hot flame. Well, it wasn't like any other flame. It didn't just turn things to ash. It turned them to more fire. You can imagine what an issue it became."

Inarius had a rather endearing look of concentration on his face. I wondered why for about a moment, before one of the chairs in the room erupted in hot, orange and red fire. The strange thing was, it didn't spread. The chair just burned, and burned, until there was nothing but a fiery frame left. And then, as abruptly as it had lit, the chair vanished in a brief puff of smoke.

"You mean that?" Inarius turned to me, curiosity in his eyes.

"Yes. That." I hadn't realized he had gained a small amount of control over the ability.

"Very well and good," Shen was speaking again, "but that can't be the only reason to put a chakra gem on his head."

"No. Inarius has always had some sort of... Foresight. He would dream of things, or have visions of events. Sometimes they were little buts and pieces that didn't really matter. Other times he could see entire battles before they happened. It was unlike anything Itherael could do, for Inarius didn't see possibilities; he saw certainties. Having someone with such an ability was dangerous. So we moved to contain it."

Both angel and man nodded in understanding. Imperius was secretly relieved Inarius hadn't reacted badly to the news. The smaller seraph defined the word 'unpredictable.'

"Hm, I feel that I should get back to my shop. Don't want to leave all those jewels just sitting around with no one to marvel at them-or maybe, to many people marveling." With that, the old jeweler left the room. He was quick for a supposedly normal old mortal.

** XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lenedial seemed to be somewhat satisfied with how Inarius was shaping up. She decided to have him get some exercise, for aside from his hands (which he used to busily scribble away at any unsuspecting piece of paper) he hadn't really moved any.

And so it was that I found my self standing rather paranoid next to the wiry angel, who himself was wondering over the blacksmith Headrig's forge. I had forgotten that Inarius used to be one of relatively few smiths in Heaven. I wondered whatever had happened to his old hammer- it was either back in Heaven, or on Sanctuary somewhere, probably.

The two had gotten immersed in a discussion that seemed to revolve around Inarius' stubby, broken fingers. As I watched, Headrig took careful measurements of each digit. Inarius had brought his tome with him, and the two were studying one of the pages.

"It should be doable." Headrig was saying. "The different lengths of each claw might make for a bit of trouble though."

"Claws?" I spoke without thinking.

Inarius turned to me "I want to try and make some sort of, I don't know, battle claws for my hands. I don't know that I'll ever be able to really hold a blade properly ever again."

"So, what, you're planning to fight with these claws?" I thought the idea over in my head. While it had merit, using claws meant the user had to get very close to their target. I said as much to Inarius.

"Yes, that's why the user must be a very good dodger, or have some form of ranged attack-or both. Which I think I can manage. Not at the moment, no, but once I'm healed? I can already use fire. It's not as hard as you might think. And I used to always get up close and personal with whoever I was fighting."

"While you did get close to enemies, you also had a fairly large shield to keep yourself protected."

"Hm, true. Thing is, those monks have told me about how they fight with martial arts. It would be similar to that."

"I suppose so..."

"Plus I was thinking of using them more for climbing that fighting."

"Climbing what?"

"Everything."

"Woah woah woah." Headrig cut in. "If you plan on climbing stuff with these, we're going to have to rethink what kind of claws these are. As they are now you'd break the rest of your fingers off if you tried climbing with these."

Inarius tipped his head to one side, thinking this over. Then, "You're right. The current ones are more like knives than claws. They need to bee curved."

"Curved and thicker. These things need to be able to support your weight-such as it is." Headrig grinned good-naturally at Inarius, who snickered at him in turn.

"What about the claws on those felines that Ehrie seems so fond of? I've seen them scale many things around the house." I spoke up. Inarius looked at me like I was some sort of genius.

"That's perfect! A cat's claws are used for killing and climbing-exactly what these are for!" Inarius declared. He then began sketching out a new design in his tome. Headrig lent his own thoughts as he felt they were needed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Inarius wanted me to take him to Tristram Cathedral. Even if I had wanted to, I didn't hint I could really say no to the scruffy angel. The Nephalem were still sparring off in groups, or practicing other skills alone or in pairs.

Crow and Rehn had spoken to Inarius about the code system developed for in battle communication, and were testing it against Theo and Alei, who had all their summons out. It looked to me that their were more mongrels around than the usual three per Witch Doctor.

Inarius was watching them from a distance. He seemed to be judging how well Crow and Rehn were able to use his system. Apparently he found it to his liking, for a few moments later he had turned and was kind of stalking but not quite over to another group. This one included Qui, Terra, Fen, and Neif. They seemed to be paired off in their own classes. Normally I would have put a stop to it, but they had spent the last two days working with other classes.

Inarius was watching both wizard and monk, but seemed more focused on the latter. No doubt trying to work out his idea for the claws. I would have joined him, but found myself pulled aside by a rather demanding Nepherah.

"I think someone has figured out you're here." She said without preamble.

"Someone as in?"

"As in someone from Heaven." I stared at her. What else could I do?

"I'm not for certain yet," she continued, "but I keep feeling traces of an angelic presence."

"You're sure it's not just residual energy from Tyrael's fall?"

"Positive. I know what Justice feels like. This felt more like Wisdom, but somehow not..." And uncomfortable silence grew.

"Imperius. You know that if someone knows you're here..." She glanced in the direction of Inarius, who was oblivious to our concerns.

"I know."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I knew I had to leave. I really didn't want to, but I knew I did. The thoughts of going back into Heaven, and dealing with Diablo's stone, and Tyrael were more than unpleasant. But the thought of someone finding out about Inarius were almost as unsettling. No, I had to leave.

Inarius seemed to somehow know I was going to leave. He refused to be anywhere I was not. Which was fine with me, honestly. I had always liked Inarius. He was the type who just grew on you, and then refused to let go. The only one who he hadn't managed to worm is way into their heart was Tyrael. Tyrael, his own older brother...

Inarius asked me to tell him what had happened in his absence before I left. Everything. All the little details, leave nothing out. And so I did.

I told him of the peace on Sanctuary, but the renewed war in Pandemonium. I told him of how Tyrael and I grew further and further apart. I told him of how I got angry, and pushed every one away. I told him about the chasm. I told him about Tyrael destroying the worldstone, and Malthael disappearing, and Tyrael coming back, and that stupid angel going and abandoning Heaven, abandoning me. He just listened. And listened. And listened.

And when I was finally done telling him everything that had happened...I Felt peace. I felt as if a hand that had been squeezing my chest harder and harder had finally let go.

Then Inarius asked a question I hadn't known I'd been dreading.

"If Tyrael is now mortal...where Is he? Why isn't he here?" _Why isn't he with me?_ The last question went unspoken, but I heard it all the same.

"I didn't tell Tyrael I was going to get you. I didn't think..."

"You didn't think he'd come anyway." Inarius finished for me. I mutely nodded.

"Thank you for everything Imperius. Really. It...It's Nice to have someone who really does care." I nodded once more.

"We will see each other again. I don't know when, but we will." I told him. He nodded to me.

"I know."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Did I stir your feels at all with the last bit? Imperius will probably get mad at Tyrael or something when he sees him now.

I wanted to introduce Inarius to Shen and Headrig. I thought it seemed like a good idea. And as for those battle claws Inarius is cooking up...those May or may not be important, you'll just have to wait and see. :P


	6. As I Went Away

**As I Went Away**

The Nephalem were upset that I had to leave. Upset? Make that angry, tearful, so very, very reluctant to let me go. Qui even raised the idea of coming with me. But I knew they would not be welcome. I could sense that things were not right in Heaven. I knew not what was wrong, but I knew I had to go, now.

Lenedial and Nepherah would stay behind, though for different durations of time. Once she was sure Inarius was healed, Lenedial would return to the Heavens. Nepherah planned to stay with Inarius, wherever he ended up going. Small as she was, the little pixie was very loyal.

They decided to set up some sort of messenger system while we idled, so that when Lenedial and I were in Heaven we would have some idea of what was going on. Messages would be sent via two angelic birds, called Fee and Kee. Fee was a sunny golden color, and kee was an inky black. The two birds could somehow transport themselves from one dimension to another. Apparently, they were Nepherah's pets or something.

Having the ability to still communicate was a great comfort, but I still left with reluctance. I had enjoyed my time with the Nephalem, strangely enough. And leaving them meant leaving Inarius. As long as I remained though, I knew that, somehow, I put the scruffy angel in danger.

Inarius had been sticking to my side like glue. He seemed to be trying to wring out every last minute of time he could get. It was quite endearing really. I was also surprised at how well he was able to move. Rather than just kind of hobble or drag himself, as he did when we first found him, Inarius kind of...streaked, To wherever it was he was going. He'd bend forward slightly, and then scurry across the ground.

I thought nothing of it, but apparently the Nephalem took a liking to his style. Indeed, it was quite common to see some of them streaking from place to place. Then it became a game. Whoever could streak the fastest and the longest won. They even began using the method in some training ideas.

The Nephalem had started to sense whatever it was Nepherah was feeling. We all did. Even Inarius was getting agitated. It was terribly baffling, and I had a feeling it was involved with the Black Soulstone. I needed to make sure the damn thing had not torn my city apart. But first, I had to literally get Inarius off of my back. He could be very clingy when he wanted to be.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Heaven was not as I left it. From the moment I entered, I could feel the hostility, fear, and general unpleasantness of the realm. As if I hadn't wanted to leave Sanctuary before, now it was taking all of my will-power not to flee for it.

That was just ridiculous. I should not feel the need to leave the Heavens so soon. I needed to find the other archangels.

Auriel was the first one I encountered. She gave me a look that clearly said "Where the Hell have you been?" I just stared at her with my flattest, most unamused expression I could muster. She quickly caved.

"Things are different Imperius." Auriel muttered, her voice weary. What amounted to my heart twisted. "The Heavens are different. Everyone is so tired."

"It's that stone." I rumbled. She nodded. Then let out a sigh.

"I am glad you are back Imperius. The Heavens need you, whether you believe it or not." I looked away from her. My decision to leave had been awfully impulsive. ...damn Nephalem.

"I am back now. Things will be better." I told her. Funny, that it was me giving hope to her. The finally smiled, and turned away, no doubt to find Itherael. I let her go-I had someone else I needed to speak to.

Tyrael always has been, and still is, a creature of habit. It was fairly early in the day, so he should be by his favorite ledge...

He appeared not to notice me(though it could be hard to tell with him) judging by the way he continued to kneel and stare over the edge. Strange. Usually he just stood and stared out, rather than down. Perhaps he was pondering what would happen if he were to fall.

As I watched him, I wondered what it must have been like to take out your own wings. I still couldn't understand it. Tyrael used to love flying. He was always in the air whenever he could be. Inarius shared that trait with him. It seemed to me that the only time they really got along was when they were both soaring high over the tops of Heaven's many spires. I had even seen them, a very long time ago, racing each other from one end of the Silver City to the other.

Tyrael finally straightened, and stretched his arms a bit. He turned, and we held each other's eyes for a long moment.

"...Imperius. You're back." His voice was no longer smooth, but rough with fatigue. I wonder when he'd last slept. Angels didn't sleep nearly as often as mortals. Only when they had some form of affliction, or had been fighting for a long time. Or, in rare cases, if they were completely relaxed. Other wise an angel could go months without sleep. Humans, on the other hand, seemed to sleep every chance they got. Or at least the Nephalem did.

"Things are different." Tyrael went on. Funny. Auriel had said the same thing.

"I noticed."

"Then where were you?"

"I wouldn't tell you Tyrael. Not then, and certainly not now." He stared at me, silently judging.

"Why?" Apparently he had decided to try and pry. Unfortunately for him, I knew his tricks.

"When I said I wouldn't tell you, I meant it."

"And this has nothing to do with my being mortal?"

"Yes. Whatever you say, you are still a creature of habit." I snickered at him. He stared at me. No doubt wondering why I was being friendly-or at least, my version of it.

"So it is who I am, not what I am?"

"You could assume that."

"But should I?"

"You tell me."

"I think I should."

"Then do so."

Tyrael grinned suddenly, though it was a little wolfish. We often talked each other in circles like this. It always seemed to help him think, similar to how battle helped me.

"So you will not tell me because of who I am."

"Yes. And who are you?"

"Tyrael, former Aspect of Justice, current Aspect of Wisdom, ally of the mortals."

"Oh. Well then." I found myself a little disappointed with his answer.

"Wait." I looked sharply at him "That is what you are, to an extent." His gaze betrayed his surprise.

"I...suppose It is. But then, who am I?"

"You are Tyrael. You used to love flying, you are calm, you were cold, you are strict in your rules, your wings were like blue lightning, and you were my friend." Tyrael stared at me once more. "And you need to sleep. You should blindfold yourself or something."

"Is that...who I am... Or who I was?" He sounded as if he were trying to wrap his mind around a concept.

"I'm not sure anymore. Figure it out."

"It sounds like...both."

"If it is both, what does that make you?"

"It makes me..." He yawned suddenly.

"Tired." I snorted, finishing his sentence for him. He frowned at me, and I snickered. "But really, you are not exactly Tyrael any more."

"If I am not exactly Tyrael, than what am I?"

"You are perhaps, mostly Tyrael. Yes, you are mostly Tyrael, and somewhat Tyrael."

"Wait, what?"

"It is as thought there are two Tyraels. And you are mostly one, and somewhat the other. The question is, which is which, which are you mostly, and which are you somewhat?"

Tyrael shook his head and raised a head to his eyes. I wondered if I had been listening to Inarius babble to much. This did sound like a conversation he might have had. The thought made me laugh. Out loud. Tyrael did another bout of starring, then joined me.

"Um, pardon me." A messenger angel stood awkwardly to the side, seeming not to know what to do. We quickly composed ourselves. "Lady Auriel has called for a meeting in the Council chamber. Er, immediately." The messenger glanced at Tyrael, and his lack of wings.

"We'll be there. You are dismissed." The messenger saluted, and scurried away. I turned back to Tyrael.

"I suppose I do miss my wings." He muttered. I shook my head at him.

"Doesn't matter." He had a few seconds to look confused before I grabbed him under the arms, and dove off the nearby ledge. I couldn't really tell if his yelling was of elation, or terror.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Cliffhanger! :D

I realy enjoyed Tyrael and Imperius' conversation. No, I have not watched Alice in Wonderland recently. I was thinking about it though P:


	7. As Things Went

**As Things Went**

** Imperius P.O.V**

Tyrael was heavier than I thought. It wasn't unbearable, but still rather bothersome concerning flight. His armor was heavy enough, plus his mortal weight- most mortals weighed about twice that of an average angel. Tyrael was fairly large for a human, and thus, was cumbersome.

I didn't say anything to the mortal though. He was enjoying (aided) flight to much for me to break in.

It was a good thing the Council Chambers were close to where we had been. The way I held Tyrael was awkward and ungainly. If we were going to be doing this often, I would have to figure out a better way to carry him.

I laughed internally when both Itherael and Auriel stared at our arrival. Tyrael shuffled nervously when I put him down. I thought the whole situation was funny for some reason. Then again, I did have a tendency to laugh at odd things (e.g Inarius' hypersomnia.)

My mirth was short lived however. The Black Soulstone sat perched in the middle of the chamber, upon an alter, as though it would be worshipped. I resisted the powerful urge to knock it form the pedestal.

"Imperius. Tyrael. Good of you to join us." Auriel sent me an annoyed look. I merely twitched my wings in a dismissive way at her. Tyrael glanced from me, to her, to Itherael, and back again. Itherael seemed to be trying not to draw attention to himself.

Things had gone from mildly amusing to borderline hostile in a matter of a single sentence. I sent a quick glance towards the Soulstone, which continued to sit upon it's alter.

"Good to join you." I muttered.

"What is this meeting about?" Tyrael changed the subject.

"We need to decide what to do about the stone." Auriel declared. Tyrael nodded.

"I propose it be sealed in a chamber of pure sound and light, and fall under an eternal watch." The Archangel of Hope raised her fist.

"That's all well and good," I began. "But how do we know the stone itself is enough to keep the evils contained? It houses all seven evils. Past soulstones have failed to contain one demon lord, let alone seven. Even if the prison were flawless, what if the stone breaks? Then we have a box full of the most powerful demons there are! I doubt any prison could hold all of them forever." Everyone stared at me. I stared back.

What was their problem? Did they think I had no comprehension of what the stone was?

"Imperius?" Tyrael eyed me with a look that I couldn't identify. "How did you know about the evils being in soulstones previously?" Oh...well shit. I had forgotten that Tyrael had never told the council about the Primes being on Sanctuary. It was the Nephalem who had told me.

"Does that really matter right now Tyrael? Can't we discuss my knowledge of your actions at a later date?"

"I would like to know as well Imperius." Auriel crossed her arms at me.

"Well it's not like I'm going to actually tell you, so either we do what we came here to do, or we wait around and get nothing done." Everyone stared at me again. Auriel looked like she didn't know whether to slap me or laugh. Itherael looked very confused.

"Why wouldn't you tell us?" Tyrael.

"Why do you think?"

"You did something we wouldn't approve of."

"I told you I'm not telling you Tyrael, so you might as well give up."

"...does This have anything to do with your absence?" I twitched my wings. And suddenly saw a way out.

"Well it's not like you were going to tell what you knew about the soulstones. That would be admitting to crimes, wouldn't it?"

"You-" Itherael spoke up for the first time. "You were on Sanctuary."

"Perhaps." I muttered.

"You went to Sanctuary, to find out about what I had done there?" Tyrael's eyed bore into my helm. Auriel glared at me. I was suddenly very annoyed.

"I don't remember questioning your actions whenever you used to disappear Tyrael." My wings hiked up, and began to radiate heat. Well, more heat than usual. And angel's wings were already quite hot. Usually. Malthael's wings had actually been the opposite. They were cool, but not cold. It was comforting.

I suddenly missed Malthael very much. We would have already figured out what to do with the damn stone if he were still here. We wouldn't be questioning each other's every move. We would still...trust each other.

Malthael had bound us together, made us whole. He was everyone's friend. He and Tyrael bonded over the need to see both sides of things, and their general calmness. He had spent many hours with Itherael, acting as a sort of study-partner, and was able to calm him when even Auriel couldn't. He had loved walking with Auriel through her Gardens. I had trusted him like I had trusted only Inarius, for neither of them had ever judged me. No other could claim that.

Caught up in my memories of a dear friend, I did not hear Tyrael's response, or Auriel's follow up. Instead, I turned towards where Malthael once stood among us, and stared at the Black Soulstone.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

** Inarius P.O.V**

I knew he'd come back. Imperius did not break his word. I still missed him though. When he came for me, I thought I had finally died in that hell-hole. When I realized this was not the case, I thought I was having a long, wonderful dream. I hoped I'd never have to wake up. I was thrilled when, days later, it became apparent that I was very much awake. And I was free.

The thought alone made me shiver with uncontrollable delight. Imperius had freed me. With the aid of my children no less. I was very pleased to see they still survived. No matter what my crazed thoughts were at the end of my time on Sanctuary, I loved each and every one of them. I didn't know how -was it truly possible for one to love so many?-but I believed I did. Even the ones who cast me down here. Especially my son, who mattered more to me than anything, who no doubt hated me to the end of his days.

Or did he still live? Was he watching me? Did he see the wreck of a thing his father had become? Did I even have the right to call myself that? He had called himself Rathma, in an effort to distance himself from me. Funny, I liked that name more than the one I'd given him-whatever that had been. I could barely remember my own name, let alone what his had been.

I would have to ask the mortals if they knew anything about him. I didn't think they would, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

The kind angel of Hope was checking bandages wound around the base of my left wing. Her hands were gentle, but precise. Lenedial, her name was. She and I had become friends of sorts in the time that she healed me.

"Your wings are looking a lot better. Still be very careful about them." Her own violet wings that she was so nervous about, but that I found quite pretty, gently swayed.

"Is there anything specific I should avoid?" My voice had improved from the scratchy, broken thing it was. It was still a bit rough, but now held more of a chime-like effect to it.

"Don't stretch to quick, and no power flapping. So basically what you've already been avoiding." Lenedial finished with my wing and stood back.

"Isn't it about time for you to sleep?" I eyed her over my shoulder. She heaved a sigh.

"Probably. I'd have thought that since Imperius isn't here anymore, I'd be free to overwork myself." She crossed her arms and snickered at me. I grinned back-and promptly cut my lip open. In one of his 'experiments', Mephisto had ripped all of my teeth (the angelic equivalent anyway) out and replaced them with shards of steel, which he'd filed into little diamonds. The result was that I now had knives for teeth, and no less than two cuts in my mouth at a time. I had gotten better about it though-it used to be five or so.

Lenedial shook her head, and handed me a damp wash-cloth.

"Alright, now shoo before I call the Nephalem." I grumbled good-naturedly while dabbing at the slice in my lip. Luckily it wasn't very deep this time.

Lenedial laughed, and turned to leave the room I had been occupying. I counted to five, and a human head poked into the door. Terra grinned at me. The monk, while calm and not all that mischievous, had a good sense of adventure. She was often trying to get her fellow monk, Neif, to relax and, as she put it, "Look around, listed to the birds, and sniff the flowers."

"We're going to the river between here and Wortham, a little down stream. Wanna come?" I thought it over in my head.

"Sure, why not? I can't swim though."

Terra shrugged. "Not a problem. Lenedial would probably put an arrow in all our eye-sockets if we got you in the water any way."

"Nah, she'd put an arrow in your eye-sockets for not inviting her." We both shared a laugh, as I carefully got to my feet. My balance was improving.

"To the river we go." Terra grinned again.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I was going to write more ( a river scene) but didn't know quite where to go with this. The reason this took longer to get up was because A. I needed to get Storm of Light. B. I needed to _read_ Storm of Light. and C. I didn't know how to write the Council's little bit.

Introducing P. O.V! There is stuff going on in both Sanctuary and Heaven, important stuff. Things should get a bit more interesting in next chapter-less thinking and more doing. Storm of Light also happens in this, so Tyrael goes to Sanctuary and reforms the Horadrim. I don't want to spoil any thing to much though- I do hope readers have read that book before, else this is probably gonna be fairly spoilerish.

Also, Every one who has reviewed, you are awesome! I really do appreciate it!


	8. As We Drowned

**As We Drowned**

** Imperius P.O.V**

My whole body had gone numb. It was like I had fallen asleep. I think someone might have called my name. I couldn't be sure. I felt a deep sense of dread, and a desire to be somewhere else. Soon I just desperately wanted to look away. But I couldn't. Later, I would realize the Black Soulstone somehow had me.

I felt smothered. I had grown hot, and my sight way fading. No, not fading exactly- more like it was zeroing in. It took me a moment to realize I was zeroing in on the stone.

Rage. Hate. Fear. I felt those emotions stronger than ever, stronger than anything.

I moved without noticing it. It was like watching some bizarre dream, in which all I could do was stand back...and Be afraid.

CLUNG! The Black Soulstone tumbled down from it's perch, having Been struck down by my own arm, though I could barely feel the impact. Actually...no, Now I could feel it.

For about two seconds, my whole body was seized with agony. I could barely scream, before I knew no more.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Tyrael P.O.V**

Imperius and I had gotten along quite well once. Quite well? We were the best of friends, nigh inseparable. We just clicked, like two pieces of a puzzle. He was a fierce, passionate fire, and I was a calm, collected river. We worked impossibly well together. And then, everything changed.

I hadn't realized how much I had been hurting him over the years. It wasn't like it had been a quick break apart either. If I really traced it back, I think it had started way back when Sanctuary was judged.

It had taken the last few days in Heaven, as a mortal no less, to finally see his pain. I had known for some time he had grown...upset? With me. I hadn't tried to do anything about it. What could I do? But now, I knew that I wouldn't be able to step aside for very long.

I found it strangely suspicious that he knew about the previous soulstones. How could he know? I hadn't told any of them. His claim that he had gone Sanctuary to find out didn't fit him whether. That was more like something Malthael might have done.

Then...he Seemed to be in some sort of trance.

"Imperius?" No reply. He just stared at the stone. His wings seemed to shrink, and draw back-a general sign of fear in an angel. Then he moved.

CLUNG! He reached forward, and the Black Soulstone tumbled from its perch. Everything went quiet. I felt Auriel draw her wings up in confused aggression beside me. Her reaction made me even more worried.

Imperius suddenly seized up, and stood, shuddering in clear pain, before he dropped.

I pride myself on being unperturbed in even the tightest of situations. But for a moment, all I felt was terror. I went to rush forward. Auriel beat me to it. The Archangel of Hope had seemingly lost her aggression, and now knelt any our brother's side. Itherael came forward slightly, but seemed to not know what to do with himself.

I knelt down with Auriel. She had turned Imperius onto his back, and was checking over his slack frame. Looking him over, I noticed something was off about his right hand... The one he'd struck the Black Soulstone with. His armored glove, rather than radiate light, seemed tinged with a dark aura. As I watched, the metal began to darken.

"Auriel! His glove-" The angel reacted immediately. She delicately cradled his arm, carefully checked it over, and reached for her cord. The cloth glowed brightly as it was wrapped around Impeirus' hand. While the aura went away, the metal still seemed dark to me. I took off one of my gloves, and reached over to touch it.

The metal was hot (which was a relief-Imperius always radiated heat) and as my hand touched, the darkness seemed to recede. Auriel's fingers smoothed over the metal, and the last traces of any taint vanished. Imperius did not wake though.

"We can't just leave him here." I looked to Auriel. She sighed.

"I know. Itherael?" Upon hearing his name, the other seraph silently came forward. He knelt down between us, and proved that he was far stronger than he looked by scooping Valor right up. I blinked as Fate stood, the other angel draped across his arms. Auriel and I stood.

"Come. He'll be best off in the Gardens."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Inarius P.O.V**

Despite the fact that I couldn't swim, I did enjoy being at the water. The mortals were very entertaining. The all had their own quirks and interests. One moment they were so similar, the next they were so different. I liked it.

At the moment I was perched up on top of a boulder that jutted out over the river. It was deep beneath the stone, but I had no intention of getting in. We weren't exactly at the river itself. Rather, the mortals had found a small branch that led to a waterfall with a large pool at the bottom. It had it's shallows and it's deep ends. It was quite the getaway. I had a feeling I would be spending much time here, once I was fully healed.

For now, I was content to watch. The mortals chased each other about, letting their true ages show in them. Most of them really were quite young- barely old enough to be out in the world on their own. But they weren't exactly on their own I suppose-they had each other. It was a happy thought to think.

"Hey! Hey Inarius!" Crow is waving at me, nearly slipping off the rock he's balancing on in the process. "Wash this!" He then did a back flip...right Into Rehn. I snorted with amusement.

"Impressive Crow. But, when flipping into another person, you should still try to land feet first." The man blinked owlishly at me from the water. Rehn shoved him off with an annoyed grumble.

I snickered at their interaction. A good pair those two.

Suddenly, a sensation of foreboding swept up my spine. My feelers twitched, and I tilted my head a few times. What could that possibly be?

My eyes pick up more than most do. The left is still as angelic as it could be, allowing me to retain many of my abilities from before Sanctuary, and see perfectly normal. The black eye though. It could see many things, strange things. I was starting to think I could see spirits with it. It varied from person to person- angels it could only see if they were in spiritual form. The Nephlem were only seen when using their abilities. But what it seemed to pick up most of all, was the dead. I could see Theo, Alei, or even Nepherah's minions no matter what was between us. I had seen lingering spirits of the dead floating about the Cathedral.

This eye allowed me to glimpse beyond the living plain. And with it, I saw what were about to be our attackers.

A shrill, piercing shriek left my mouth, and the Nephalem snapped to attention. This was a bad way to be caught in battle. Almost no cover, no weapons, hindered by water, guard down... Yet the Nephalem did not fall. The Monks, the Witch Doctors and the Wizards needed no weapons. The cast their attacks quickly as the others rushed for the shore.

I stood, helpless to do anything. I had no weapons. I could barely move. My wings would not work.

Qui was a quick learner. The things that attacked- pale, ghastly in form- were dangerous as any enemy, but easily outsmarted. She teleported behind them and it took them a full minute to react. That minute cost them whatever life they had. It seemed, as the Monks shattered their skeletal adversaries, and the others reached their weapons, that everything might be okay.

I felt a presence. It was like a breeze, cold, and faint. I turned, and before me stood a maiden. But no maiden that I had ever seen looked like her. Silver-grey armor, no true wings, light blue skin, a huge scythe in her clawed grip. She leaned forward, examining me. I wanted to step back, but their was no space. Only the waters yawning beneath me. Instead, I raised my wings, lowered my head, and bared my teeth. Those could come in handy...

A shout drew my attention, and I turned just in time to see a huge fire-ball, mis-fired by Fen, shooting towards the stone upon which I stood. It hit just beneath me, and for a moment, I was in the air. Then, I was underwater.

Fear. Cold, sickening fear. I had never even tried to swim before in my life, let alone while crippled. While an angel could last longer than a human underwater, our light would go out eventually.

Instincts kicked in, and I began to kick and thrash. But it did little to nothing. My armor weighed me down, having filled with liquid. My hands would not gather water. My wings...my Wings. They were burning. I fought not to scream as the sensation got worse and worse. My back began to throb with the same pain. The water was going to kill me. All the while I sank lower and lower.

I did not want to go like this. Not now. Not now that I was free. Not when I had a chance at life. I hadn't even seen my brother yet. I wished he were here now. I wished Imperius was here. But wishing had never got me very far.

My last thought, before darkness took over my mind, was rather odd. I could have sword someone had come in after me. Someone dark, but not evil. Someone who was troubled. Someone familiar.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

When I woke up, I was very confused. I wasn't expecting to wake up at all, let alone laying in the middle of a forest. I felt as if I had been asleep for days, yet my hair was wet. I was in no pain, and when I awoke, one of my eyes was closed. Closed. Which meant I somehow had an eyelid. Only one though.

I carefully sat up, fully expecting to be assaulted by waves of dull agony. Nothing. Barely even a twinge. I felt better than ever. I licked my lip where I had cut it this morning. Perfectly fine. Nothing but old scars. What the Hell?

What had happened to me? Was I dead? Only one way to be sure.

"Oof!" Yes I was alive. My fist (which unfortunately still had stubby fingers) proved that.

I looked around. Now, where was I? I couldn't be far-these were the same kinds of trees that grew around New Tristram. No choice but to get up and look around.

I savored the new-found strength in my legs. It was one of the best things, after having been unable to even stand for so long. Better than that, were my wings. They had grown somehow. They actually radiated light, though it was a strange one, and moved as easily as my legs. Whatever had happened, I liked it.

As much as I wanted to test out my limbs, it was probably a bad idea. For all I knew they could give out the moment I took a step. It had happened before. And so, at a rather sedate pace, I picked a direction (with the help of my feelers-they were sensitive to any kind of vibration) and started walking. At best, I'd find the town. At worst... Who knew.

I had been wandering for maybe an hour or so before a building came into sight. Promising. It looked dilapidated though. Actually, dilapidated wasn't quite the word. More like it had been involved in some sort of...explosion...

As I got closer, the building clicked. The Cathedral. Tristram Cathedral. ...I Didn't like cathedrals. But this was a good sign. I could probably (probably- my mind still blanks out on a lot of things) find my way back. Thankfully, the road was still quite clear, and no longer crawling with undead.

Another building, more of a shack really, popped up as I rounded a corner. Something felt off about it. I could sense that something dark and terrible had once lived here. Inside their were several old potions and books. The potions I wouldn't touch, but the books... I loved books. And I had never seen ones like these before.

The forest volume had a dark blue cover. I couldn't quite make out the name- language had changed since my time here- but I opened it anyway. Right onto a page littered with notes about summoning demons.

With a sharp hiss, I tossed the book from my hands as if it had burned me. It was a dark book. It contained dark magic, the bad kind. Not all dark magic is really bad, (Necromancers) but this? This should never have been written.

I turned to the rest of the old tomes, and poked them all open. Demons, summoning, hundreds of ways to possess, thousands of ways to torture. Things that should never, never be on Sanctuary. I glanced around at all the bottles, the scrolls, the tomes, instruments of magic, and suddenly I knew. This place had belonged to a witch. Their had been few during my time, but I knew of them. This place and it's content could not continue to exist.

Fortunately, I knew how to end it.

Getting the flames to lick off my finger tips wasn't as tricky as it should have been. And once they appeared, they spilled onto the structure almost hungrily. Within moments the whole shack was ablaze. I willed the flames not to spread, to only destroy the darkness I had stumbled upon. They obeyed.

It only took a few minutes. When I called the flames to silence, nothing remained but a smoldering hole. No doubt it had led to a cellar. I re-summoned my fires, and this time they formed a angry, glowing red sphere on my finger tips. I sent the fire ball into the cellar. Seconds later, the ground exploded with heat, and bits of earth rained about. I savored the sight of what little remained. No one would ever read those books again.

When I turned away, the flames vanished. To anyone who approached, it would appear as if the fire had happened long ago. And I had no intention of correcting them.

I followed another path, leading upward. At a fork, their was a post. Tristram, Tristram Cathedral...Adria's Hut. Oh. I knew of her. The Nephalem had told me everything they knew of her. They had told me what she had done. Perhaps I would tell them what had happened here. Perhaps I would tell them that if I ever met this woman, she would end up like her shack.

I continued onward. Night had fallen while I had torched the structure. Only the moon gave any light. Actually, that wasn't true. Their was something up ahead that seemed to be burning with blue fire.

It was a way point. Nice as it was, I couldn't use it. I had never touched the one in New Tristram. Oh well. I was quite enjoying walking around anyway. Tristram was much like it's cathedral- a wreck- though I found it quite interesting. I would have to see if I could come here during the day.

I didn't spend much time in the ruins. I needed to get back. Roads were safe enough during the day, but during the night was another story. I didn't really want to be waiting around outside of New Tristram.

The town was closer than its residents seemed to think. I had not been walking (more like trotting) long before the gates came into sight. I slowed my pace- these guards were a rather jumpy lot, and not everyone knew who I was.

"Halt!" One who bore a sword held out his hand. "Who're you? ..._what_ are you?"

"I'm Inarius. I am - or was, not really sure anymore - an angel."

"Sounds like a load a bull ta me..."

"Wait a moment Sterling. Aint he with them warrior folk?" Another man came trotting over.

"Hm, maybe. But we can't be to sure. Someone go fetch those people in the square!" 'Sterling' barked over his shoulder. A bow wielding man scurried away.

"You wouldn't have happened to have gone missing a few hours back, wouldja?." The second man spoke up, looking me up and down. I nodded to him. "Where you been?"

"Out in the forest. I woke up there."

"Odd place for a nap."

"I've awoken in stranger places. I wasn't napping though. I just woke up there."

"Really now?"

"Yes. Last I remember, before the forest of course, I had been drowning."

"That aint a healthy thing to be doing, and I didn't quite catch your name, mister-?"

"Inarius."

"Baran." He reached out with a hand. I hesitantly reached for it. He eyed my fingers (or lack thereof) for a moment, before he shook my hand rigorously. I liked this man.

"Inarius!" the archer from before came back, Terra and Neif sprinting after him.

"You're back!" Terra gasped, and both of them stared at me.

"Yes. I am back. And I think we must talk-all of us. Something very strange happened."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Huzzah! A new chapter! I so sorry for no update :( I give longer chapter.

The idea behind the title of the chapter is that both Imperius and Inarius are drowning, just in a different way. Tyrael and Adria's Hut just sort of wrote themselves in. So did Baran.

Can anyone guess who saved Inarius? Now things are really gonna pick up. Stuff's starting to actually happen. Holy mother there is a plot!

So more was explained about that eye of Inarius', and he now has the ability to torch buildings. Yes, this is important. So is the fact that he was mysteriously healed.

Questions? Comments? Reviews? Reviews make everyone get up off their butt and write more P:


	9. As We Tensed

**As We Tensed**

**Tyrael's P.O.V**

Auriel and a handful of her best maidens had been fussing over Imperius constantly. While he was in no immediate danger, they kept finding not entirely healed wounds. And he wasn't waking up. It was making everyone anxious.

I was sitting beside the archangel, in a secluded area of the medical ward. To anyone who didn't know better, Imperius looked to be only asleep. His hands rested atop his chest, and his wings were relaxed. No doubt his hidden eyes were closed. He was very still-even his wings did not stir.

Never before had I felt so afraid for another, especially not Imperius. In my mind, he was unshakable, and would never be toppled. Even when Diablo had attacked, Imperius had not fallen. Despite his terrible wound, the archangel had pressed on, throwing himself into trying to save the rest of Heaven.

It still eluded me why Imperius had been so violent towards the Nephalem. I knew he had no taste for them, but surely he could see that they were trying to help? The only plausible answer I could come up with was that Imperius hadn't been thinking straight-he _had_ been ran through by the Prime Evil after all. Even stranger was their disappearance a few days later.

I wasn't blind to the fact that the Nephalem, their companions, and Imperius had all left Heaven at the same time, on very short notice. At first I had thought it merely a coincidence, but when no one heard from or saw any of them, I began to have my suspicions.

What I could not fathom, was what in the world they could all be doing. Imperius and the Nephalem? The only thing I could think of was that they, the Nephalem, were going to fight, with Imperius. But that just made no sense at all. The Nephalem would not attack Imperius unless he struck out against them. While it was very much possible for Imperius to start a fight, that didn't explain why they all disappeared.

Then Imperius just reappeared. And he was acting more friendly than he had in so many years. Our conversation, however brief, had been one of the most favorable to date. It had felt so...normal, to be able to speak with him like that once again. Even being dragged off a ledge hadn't felt truly dangerous-just surprising.

What didn't feel quite right, was the Council's meeting. Everything was so backwards; Auriel seemed far more aggressive than she usually was, Imperius had been the one to sneak off, Itherael was silent, and I had to try and get around flaring tempers.

And then there was the incident with the Black Soulstone. What had driven Imperius to act, no one knew. What had happened to him, no one could say. It scared me, not knowing these things. Not knowing in general was terrifying to me, though I had never admitted this to anyone.

There were things that I didn't need to know, but wanted to know. These frustrated me. Things that didn't matter, that wouldn't really change anything, but that I wanted to know anyway. It seemed that this need to know had grown when I took on mortality. Things that had crossed my mind once or twice as an angel now would not leave me alone.

Things like Imperius. In particular, his face. I had sometimes wondered what it looked like. It was an angel's choice to reveal their face to another, and as far as I knew, Imperius had never done so. Were his features sharp and stern? Or were they soft, and compassionate? While the latter might not seem very likely now, back before Sanctuary, it was very much possible that this was the case. I personaly thought that he would be a mix of the two.

As these thoughts danced around my head, I had unconsciously been tracing my fingers around the 'eyes' and 'nose' of Imperius' helm. I could not feel them through my armor, as I once could, but my mind supplied what my fingers could not; I had memorized all the different ridges and notches long ago. It was very unique, even among a race of beings who wore either helms or hoods.

I had rarely ever worn a helm. They just didn't suit me. None of the others really had either. Just Imperius. He himself was unique in many ways to the council.

Where most angels were calm and generally unexcitable, Imperius was a storm of emotion. Where other angels decided enough was enough, Imperius pressed in for a final blow. Where other angels laid their weapons down to rest, Imperius was as ready to fight as he was before, during, or after any battle. Where most angel's wings were smooth, and calm, Imperius' raged like fire. He was proud, powerful, fierce, passionate, and cared much more than he showed. He was...interesting.

As caught up in my thoughts as I was, I didn't realize I was no longer alone with Valor until someone poked me in the shoulder. It was a good thing I was no where near as strong as I was as an angel, otherwise the one that prodded me would be sprawled on the floor. As it was, he barely took a step back when my elbow connected with his stomach.

"I-I'm terribly sorry about that...you startled me." I blinked up at the tall angel standing awkwardly beside me, and he tilted his head to one side. Wait...

"No need to be sorry. I shouldn't have interupted." Two appendages, much like the ears of a feline, twitched back. I grinned at the angel.

"It is good to see you again Nyllius."

"Pleasure is mine." Orange wings fluttered, and the seraph relaxed out of his alarmed state. His armor - a lovely copper-rose color - flared out slightly, as an angel's does when they are at ease.

"I heard you were in the med-ward, but I knew not why. I wanted to be sure you hadn't been harmed." Nyllius then glanced behind me. "Though I am surprised-what could have possibly put Imperius here?"

I grit my teeth. "The Black Soulstone. There was... an incident, in the council chamber." Nyllius' 'ears' flicked back, and his wings raised at mention of the stone.

"Damn thing. You still haven't decided what to do with it?"

"We are dead-locked."

"That's never good."

"I know. But so far, we haven't been able to come up with a favorable solution..." Nyllius looked me in the face, down at Imperius, and around at the rest of the med-ward.

"You say that, but you have an idea." He stated.

"I have...a theory."

"Well? Let's have it. There's no one around who isn't passed out." I had the angel's full attention. But was it truly safe to speak out in the open...? I asked him as much.

"It's safer here than anywhere else. Other places can be watched, but the med-ward has a privacy spell. Someone would actually have to come in, and you know I'd 'hear' them." As if to solidify this, the two appendages twitched backward slightly.

"Alright. Although before I say anything, I must ask, where are your siblings?"

"Bullra's playing mind-games with Balzael. I haven't seen Nepherah in a little while, but she tends to go over to...you know. She's spent months there a few times. It really upset her when they were closed...I mean, it upset a lot of people, but...Oh I'm getting carried away. " Nyllius shook his head, and I had the feeling that he was more worried about his sister than he let on.

"I hope she turns up." The angel nodded curtly, and I decided to get back to the subject of the Blacksoulstone. "Now I had been thinking on what to do with the stone, and I feel it should be hidden. But what I do not know, is where..."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

** Inarius' P.O.V**

We had to wait a few moments for everyone to come back. I was really quite touched that they were all looking for me in some way or another. It was nice to have people who cared.

It was also nice to have people who weren't enraged that you disappeared (even when it wasn't your fault). Tyrael was always mad whenever he couldn't find me. I could never really figure out why. Imperius had told me he was just worried, and I guess that means he probably was, but that doesn't mean I understood it.

Each of the mortals had greeted me in various ways, and it made me feel oddly shy, being the center of attention like that. The Nephalem, myself, Nepherah and Lenedial were now all in the main living area of the house. Lenedial was checking over the areas she'd been tending over the past week or so, and everyone was surprised to find them healed for the most part.

"It just makes no sense." She kept muttering.

"So, what exactly happened when you fell in the water?" Qui, always the one to get things moving, spoke up. Fen would barely look at me, no doubt blaming himself for the whole thing. I'd have to talk to him about it later.

"I'm not exactly sure." I began. " I know I fell in, and I remember not being able to swim, but then everything got dark. I think...I think someone came in after me. Someone that I know...or knew." I could not, for the life of me, think of anyone with a presence like that one.

"So someone managed to get to you while underwater, and drag you away without anyone seeing? That's impossible. There were ten of us!" Crow protested.

"They may not have necessarily 'dragged' him away." Nepherah spoke up. "Plenty of mortals, angels, and demons alike have the ability to teleport."

"In and out of water?" Qui asked skeptically.

"If it were a mortal or demon? Unlikely. But if it were an angel, or something like an angel? It's more than possible. One might go so far as to say it's probable." We all considered the pixie's words. It _was_ possible, or even probable, that my rescuer had been an angel. After all, the one who had come to me was-

"The Maiden!" My shout startled even myself.

"A maiden? What kind of maiden?" Terra asked.

"An angelic maiden. She appeared to me, just on the rocks. I couldn't tell what aspect..."

"Wait! You mean that thing on the rocks was an _angel_?" Crow demanded.

"That thing nearly killed each of us on one occasion or another." Lynara muttered. Every one shared uncomfortable looks.

"She...there was something wrong about her. She was so cold, and had no wings." I shuddered just thinking of her. Yet, there had been more to the maiden, more that I could just barely sense...

"Well great." Qui grumbled. "So there's an angry angel woman who was, for some reason, even tougher than Diablo! And she is still out there, probably going to come back and murder us in our sleep!" At this, an argument of sorts broke out between the mortals.

"Inarius?" Lenedial poked me in the back, "You're sure you don't remember anything else?"

"Not immediately. Maybe if I slept on it, I'd remember more. Why do you ask?"

"Your wounds are almost completely healed! Someone with a very strong affinity for magic would have had to do this. It took me a week and a half to get you to be able to just walk around, and you still had to lean on someone most of the time. So whoever they are, not only are they a good healer, but they can teleport in and out of water, undetected. We believe they are an angel. The maiden you saw is, or was an angel. Does anyone else think it's possible that there's a connection?" The Nephalem had gone silent, and were all listening intently to the courier's words.

"That..the idea has merit, but it doesn't exactly make sense." I responded. "I mean, the maiden and her forces attacked the Nephalem. She was probably going to attack me for all we know. It wouldn't make much sense for an associate of hers to _save_ me."

"Well..." Ehrie spoke up, "This is only assuming she meant to attack you. What if... maybe they thought we were holding you captive or something? And that's why they attacked us?"

"If that were the case, why bother leaving him in the woods to find his way back?" Terra asked.

"You know, we're all assuming that these angels or whatever they are came in with a plan. I mean, it seems perfectly logical to us, thanks to Imperius, but when you think about it, this seemed more like an accident than anything else." Nepherah made her points known.

"But I felt them coming to attack us." I was more puzzled than anything. This was a very confusing event.

"You felt them coming. But who knows if they meant to attack?"

"They dropped down with swords drawn. Pretty sure they were looking for a fight." Crow reasoned.

"Hm. Okay, so maybe the first things that came were out for blood. But what about the maiden? From what I gathered, she only attacked _after_ Fen's mis-fire. Maybe she thought it was intentional?" Everyone gave Fen a sympathetic look and/or pat on the arm.

"Okay, that actually makes a bit of sense." Qui began. "But what about the angel that healed Inarius? Why would it bother with teleporting away if it were only going to let Inarius go?"

After a beat of silence, Rehn gave a frustrated growl. "Does anyone honestly think we're going to figure this out tonight?"

"He makes a point." Ehrie backed the large man up/ "We should probably be resting."

"With the possibility of angry angel maidens coming after us in our sleep?" Demanded Qui.

"We can stay up and keep watch." Nepherah offered. Lenedial nodded in agreement.

"Though Inarius should probably still try and sleep." The angel of Hope added, with a tone that brokered no argument.

I snickered at her; "I was planning on resting anyway. I wanna see if having an eyelid affects my sleep at all."

"Oh, shoo. You all have beds, now go use them." The angel's tone was a mix of demanding and playfulness. I couldn't keep the grin off my face.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_ Tristram was having a party. Some man or another had been, or was going to be, elected mayor. I wandered through the crowd of drinking mortals, wondering exactly how i'd gotten here, and where all the Nephalem were. Had they left without me? Where were they headed? _

_ Two mortals talking quietly in a secluded area got my attention. One looked as if he had been trying to drink away some problems, and the other seemed more or less disapproving. _

_ At first, I didn't want to invade their privacy. But then, I realized there was nothing better to do, and I couldn't seem to leave the tavern. Orr...inn? Was it an inn? Did that really matter right now?_

_ With nothing better to do, I ...scurried, for lack of a better word, over to the table where the two humans were conversing. Neither seemed to realize I was listening in on them. The first one I quickly decided I didn't care for. He was full of self-pity, and desire for something he had no right to. I wasn't sure what exactly it was, though I could tell the other man had it. _

_ The other human was far more interesting than the first. He was having trouble with his emotions, an unsure about what he had to do about...something. Yet I knew he was here because he was going to try. Try what, I didn't know, or why. But this man-made me strangely proud. It was as though he were someone I had known and had held hope for. I wondered who he was. _

_ Then the scene changed. The second man was with a group of mortals who greatly reminded me of the Nephalem. He seemed to be leading them. They were in a great, underground city. It seemed rather familiar to me. Kind of like the man. _

_ The scene changed again. And again. Again. Again, again, again. They began to change to quickly for me to understand all of what was happening. Flashes of these mortals, now turning themselves into angels, fighting with other angels, the man battling with another seraph, Imperius saving him. The man left Heaven, and rejoined his mortals. _

_ The man was with other mortals. They were somewhere outside Westmarch. I was unsure how I knew that, but I knew. I felt a presence, and for a moment I was convinced the Maiden had returned, now far stronger. This feeling turned the thing that entered the chamber and began killing the humans some strange fusion of the Maiden, and an angel I didn't quite recognize. _

_ I watched, oddly fascinated, as the angel (for what else could it be?) attacked the man. I saw him reach for the stone. I saw him turn to the man, now fallen and clearly injured._

_ "No one can stop Death."_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The end part is a dream sequence. I was going to include a bit more on both Tyrael and Inarius' parts, but then thought against it. Mores stuffs for the next chapter.

Now that school's out, I'll hopefully get back into this story. I have already written it out in my head, I just need to get typing.

Comments? Questions?


	10. As I Painted

**As I Painted**

** Inarius P.O.V**

Most people don't remember their dreams for more than an hour or so. They don't remember them very clearly either. I am not most people. I can remember almost everything that happened in a dream for hours, days, weeks, months. Unfortunately, the clarity doesn't last very long. So when I snapped awake, I reached for the pencil and paper left right beside the bed.

I didn't need an artificial light, now that my wings held their power again. Soon the pencil was scratching away, guided be my hands, to form one being, two beings. First the man, and then the angel. Every last detail was penciled in, like the words of a sentence, in the body of a paragraph.

Maybe an hour or so later, two perfect images, as well as some sketches of different views, laid out before me. It only then occurred to me to try and see what time it was.

Looking out the window, the sun was just below the horizon. It was rare that a dream lasted for that long. Usually they came and went in just under an hour, and left me awake for the rest of the night. Then again, it had been kind of late when we'd all gone for sleep. Ah well.

After mulling over what to do next, I decided to ask the Nephalem if they recognized the man. He looked like someone they would associate with. Perhaps one of the other angels would recognize the dream angel, but I doubted it. My mind had twisted it and the Maiden together, lessening the chances of recognization.

I guess I'd have to leave the room first...

Silently, I left my room, and made for the stairs. I didn't want to wake anyone, so rather than actually use the stairs, I hopped over the guard rail, and eased myself down with my wings. The action brought a quick grin to my face; I couldn't actually remember the last time I had done anything even close to flying (being blown off the rocks didn't count).

"And you are doing...what?" Lenedial was leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, arms crossed. She seemed more puzzled than anything though.

I held up the pictures. "I had a dream last night. These two were in it." Lenedial made a noise of curiosity, and reached for the pages. As she examined the images, Nepherah entered the house from a nearby window. She must have been keeping watch outside.

"What'cha got there Lenedial?" She floated over, and the larger angel handed her the pages.

"Any idea who they are?" I asked.

"Not sure 'bout the guy, but that angel..." She paused to look him - her? -over again. "It reminds me of an angel of Wisdom." Lenedial made a noise of agreement.

"Hm. You think the Nephalem would recognize the man?" the angel of Hope asked.

"That's what I was thinking."

"I don't see why not. Where did these people come from again?" Nepherah replied.

"I had a dream last night. These two were the most prominent."

"But there were others?" The pixie turned to me, clearly looking for details.

"Yes. I can't remember them clearly, but I know there was one man who pitied himself, and wanted what the man I drew had. I didn't like him. There were a few others, including one that looked like...what was his name? ...Rathma. He looked and felt like Rathma. There were some females, one like Qui, and one like Lynara. Later there were angels. I think Imperius killed one of them to save the man in the picture. Then there were more men. Only one stood out-he was mostly covered up, but from what I saw, he had blond hair and blue eyes. Then there was the angel. I think my mind accidentally fused it with the maiden from the attack." I looked up at the other seraphs. Both seemed to be thinking over the dream.

"I think..." Lenedial began, "I think we should wait for the Nephalem to awaken." Nepherah only nodded in agreement, still thinking.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Patience has never been one of my strong points. Well, that's not exactly true. I can wait for an eternity - as long as I can keep myself occupied. This, however, can be trouble-some. I used to be able to just think for hours, days, even weeks on end. Then I'd start thinking to many things. I had to let them out somehow, or it could end...less than well, as Sancuary had proved to me.

So, while waiting for the Nephalem to rise, I started wandering the house. Keeping quiet was easy when I took my boots off. The house was only so big though. Before long, I had covered the whole building (excluding most of the bedrooms- if Crow didn't want me invading his room, he should have closed the door, and put that shiny looking dagger someplace out of sight).

What to do now? I didn't want to wander around again, that would be pacing, and I had already seen the house. It was actually kind of dull; everything was a shade of brown, aside form the curtains, which were green. I wonder if they had any paint laying around...

The Nephalem didn't, but one of the nearby merchants did. I figured he wouldn't mind if I swapped it out for gold (turns out he didn't mind at all- he had wanted to be rid of the stuff anyway).

Most people would need brushes for painting. While they were nice to have, I was not most people. Tyrael was always dismayed at my painting with my fingers, but that hadn't stopped me. I always thought the paintings done by finger were better than the ones with brush; the lines were cleaner, the colors clearer, and I could better feel what I was doing.

Time lost its meaning for me. I had picked a wall, and began. Colors spilled forth, and I spread them, forming a backdrop. I began adding more traits of a world, creating tree-like structures, paths of glowing streams, tall, jagged peaks that touched a star filled sky, all of it illuminated by two moons - one a midnight blue, the other a pale pink lace. Slowly but surely, a world unlike any ever created by Heaven or Hell was painted onto one of the walls of the house.

The world illuminated itself, even with it's moons beaming down onto it. Any motion caused a ripple of light, though not any that Heaven had created. The trees leaves were more like sparks from a fire, and floated in the stream when they fell. The ground was peppered with flower like constructs, which twisted into intricate designs within the soft fronds of what could have been grass, but seemed more like the fur of a feline.

I was not finished. While the moons dried, I began to populate this world. Creatures that were not angels, demons or mortals dotted the landscape. They had small, glittering wings, and strode on four long, elegant legs, tipped with hooves. Their tales coiled behind them, almost serpentine. Their mouse-like faces reflected innocence, which I marveled at, for it had been a very long time since I had known anything even close.

At first glance they were all wandering without purpose, but when one stood away, it was clear that they were creating a design with themselves. They were dancing together. Some danced on the ground, some in the sky, some in the streams, some _on_ the streams. But all danced together.

"Quick question." I spun around, and nearly decked Terra in the face. She seemed unruffled though. "Where did you get all that paint?"

I glanced from the paint, to the painting, to Terra, and pack to the paint. "A nearby merchant..." She merely nodded.

"Most of us are awake. Whoever is not will be in the next few minutes. Nepherah told us there was more to talk about?"

"Yeah. Yeah there is."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

At Terra's urging, I went and cleaned most of the paint off of myself. I had pretty much made myself into a painting as well. I think I may have missed some though, if the itching feeling on my face is anything to go by.

Once again, we were all sitting in the main room of our abode. The only difference was that most of the mortals were eating. I had tried eating before, and found that it generally caused a sensory overload, which is not exactly a favorable reaction when there are others around.

"So, something _else_ happened last night?" Lynara started the conversation.

"I had a dream."

"Wait, really? We're all gathered to talk about a _dream_?" Fen looked more or less un-amused.

"Was it naughty?" Lyndon received a smack on the arm from Kormac for that comment.

Nepherah gave them both withering looks. "Inarius tends to dream about the future. Actually, not just tends to - the only time he doesn't dream about the future is when he dreams about the past."

Qui gave us both a raised eyebrow. "Really? So he's like a prophet or something?"

I winced at that name. "You could say that, but I'd prefer if you didn't."

"Basically," Lenedial interjected, "He's got foresight, and a little bit of hindsight."

"Doesn't everyone have hindsight?" Crow asked.

"Yes, but I don't have to be there to see it." I told him.

"Okay, so you had a dream, and you probably saw the future. What did you see?" Terra got us back on track.

"People. And some angels, but that happened later. Before I go into detail, does anyone recognize these two? Or just one?" I held up the two pictures I'd drawn this morning.

For a few seconds, everything was quiet as the Nephalem gazed at the images. Then everyone started shouting.

"You saw _him_!? But that's-!"

"How did you draw them? More specifically him!"

"Wait, you mean you don't know...?"

The reactions were mixed. Some were amazed that I didn't know who they were. Others seemed bewildered by my ability to draw two people I didn't know. This went on for a few minutes, before Rehn got everyone to quiet down. He has my eternal gratitude.

"So, who is it?" I tentatively asked.

"That's your brother." Ehrie's reply was soft."That's Tyrael."

I stared at her for a minute. Two minutes. Turned to look at the picture. This...was my brother? I had dreamed of him? Then that meant...he'd be coming here...to Tristram...

"You...you broke him Ehrie!" Crow shouted. His fellow hunter just glared at him.

"No. No, I'm okay. I just...wasn't expecting..."

"By the light." Apparently, Nepherah had been going through a similar state of shock.

"Wait a minute. How did you not know what Tyrael looked like?" Fen demanded.

"When would they have seen him?" Qui shot back. The two began to argue.

"If it's Tyrael," Despite the quietness of my voice, the two wizards stopped their argument. "Then we must leave. Soon."

"Wait, what?" the outburst of surprise came from Lenedial. "Why?"

"We were gone in my dream. We had our path, and he had his. And they do not cross for some time. I believe events will not continue forward until we leave. Or they will force us to leave." Once more, silence settled over the room.

"What exactly happened in your dream?" Neif asked.

"Tyrael was here. With others. Now that I think about it, I believe they are also Nephalem. And some other word... Hordrim? Haradrim?"

"Horadrim?" Alei supplied.

"Yes, that. They were Horadrim, or would be Horadrim. They were going on some quest... It started to get really confusing. I know they end up going to Heaven. Someone attacks Tyrael, some angel I either don't know or don't remember. Imperius saves him I think. Saves Tyrael."

"He would." Crow mutters.

"And then...sometime later, Tyrael and some other mortals, more Horadrim I think, are attacked by the one from the second picture. Er, something like it. I kind of, accidentally fused the angel with the maiden in my dream."

The Nephalem let the information sink in.

"So this will all definitely happen?" Neif asks.

"Or some variation on the event. There have been times when I've been able to edit an event, but it's rare."

"Is there anything else you remember?" Eirena speaks up for the first time. I hesitate to answer. But I don't see the harm in telling them...

"Yes, one sentence: _No one can stop Death_." Everyone froze. For one reason or another, the sentence causes genuine fear in the Nephalem's hearts.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Tyrael's P.O.V**

"I have been thinking of possible places for hiding, but they all seem painfully obvious." Nyllius' head was tilted forward and to the right, a sure sign that he was thinking.

"And these places are?"

"At first I considered someplace in Heaven, such as the Pools, or the Fist, but the angels would surely find it. For a while I was set on Pandemonium, but..."

"But it's a given that the place is crawling with demons, and you couldn't manage that yourself. Actually, I'm wondering how exactly you would want to get the Stone? It's not like the Council will just let you have it. And even if they did..."

"Yes?"

"Balzael would come after you himself."

"Balzael?"

"Yes. He already believes you should be either imprisoned, or terminated. He would kill you, or make one of his followers do it, and claim the stone back."

"How can you know this?"

"He's not the only one who's been spying on people."

"You've been spying you say? And what has this uncovered?"

Nyllius paused, and I knew he was making sure no one would be coming. He had actually been one of my best scouts, before Sanctuary had happened. He had disappeared, along with all the others and the World Stone. I knew he and his siblings had been part of the hidden worlds creation. I knew they had mated with _demons_, and created Nephalem of their own. It was clear to me who those Nephalem had been- the two groups, Druids and Barbarians, closely mirrored the fighting styles of Bullra and Nyllius.

When the two had returned, some time before Sanctuary's discovery, I had (somewhat foolishly) assumed they had been tracking the Stone. It was not implausible, with senses like Nyllius'. I now knew why they had returned.

"Balzael has often entered the Pools of Wisdom as of late. I think he is being influenced by someone. Whenever he returns, it is with a new set of orders for his angels. He then goes and...stalks you." The angel's ears twitched back, and he was clearly distressed by the other angel's actions. I admit, I wasn't terribly comfortable with the news either.

"Where do you and your brother stand in all of this?"

"Being as much of a pain in the ass as we can be without getting court-martailed."

"Good work soldier. Keep doing what you do." I smirked at the angel, and he snickered back.

"Will do, sir." After a beat of silence, Nyllius brought the subject of the Black Soulstone up again. "None of the places you mentioned are plausible. That only leaves all the ruined worlds from the Eternal Conflict, and Sanctuary." I blinked at the angel, surprised any one would bring up the world of men as a possibility. Then I remembered who I was talking to.

"I still do not know. What if Auriel is right, and we should seal it in a prison? Or Imperius, and the stone breaks apart?"

"He said that?" The copper seraph gestured at Valor's prone form.

"Something along those lines."

"Hm. Well it looks like we're stuck." We lapsed into a thoughtful silence. I was dreading what the seraph might say next for some reason. Actually, I was dreading dealing with the situation as a whole. It was a mess, and one that I didn't know how to deal with. I have a feeling that Imperius may know something important, that could deeply affect whatever came nex, but that didn't help me much.

"You took on the aspect of Wisdom, yes?" Nyllius spoke up unexpectedly.

"Yes. The Arch called to me..." I wasn't sure I would like what he said next.

"Have you peered into the Chalice at all?" There it was. The thing I hadn't wanted to hear him say. I could take it from Imperius. Take it and deflect it. But from Nyllius? I couldn't deny him if my life depended on it. Because that was what I owed him...and his siblings... and the one they called father...

"No. I have not." I looked away from the taller being, shame welling up.

"Well, there's no time like the now." The angel didn't sound disappointed, or angry, or upset in any way. Actually, he sounded more optimistic than anything.

I glanced down at Imperius, who was still comatose. The Stone had done this to him. It would to it to others, unless I stopped it. I looked back to Nyllius, and I knew that at this moment, he was the only comrade I had. I had to trust him.

"Very well. Watch him for me, will you?"

"Yes sir."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I like Nyllius. I like him _a lot_. I almost didn't write the last part, but I'm glad I did. Nephy is my main OC, but Nyllius is pretty great once I start working with him. And yeah, Nepherah, Nyllius, and Bullra (who has only been mentioned at this point) are all siblings. I have this headcanon that if the Arch can make two angels siblings, it could make another couple of angels parents and children. So the triplets do have a dad type thing. Anyone wanna guess who it is? They _have_ been introduced in this series.

I made Inarius an artist. The kind of really-good-but-doesn't-acknowledge-it-as-anything-other-than-expressing-himself artist. He tends to make a bit of a mess while, 'Expressing himself.' You can imagine what Tyrael's reaction was like the first time Inarius finger-painted a random, innocent wall. Also, I almost forgot to make him clean the paint off of himself before having their little chit chat.

Don't worry, Imperius will wake up soon. And probably be really worried about, like, everything.

Also, does anyone know how long the events of Storm of Light take to happen? That will kind of affect what happens next.


	11. As He Awoke

**As He Awoke**

** Nyllius P.O.V**

It had been good to speak with Tyrael. He had always been an important figure in our lives, but mine in particular. I had followed him then, and would follow him now. Even though he was no longer Justice, even though he wasn't even an angel any more. I respected him to much for that to matter.

Thus, when he gave me an order, I followed it to the best of my ability (usually to the letter).

I quickly discovered that watching a sleeping Imperius was not all that eventful. This led me to trying to find ways to occupy myself. This lead me to discovering just _how_ intricate the Archangel's armor is. I wasn't much of a drawer (that was Nepherah's department) but I could get a good enough sketch for important details. Unfortunately, my head decided to identify every little curve, shadow, and fold as important. Times like these I really wished I had my sister around. Or that I was in my abode- that was where I kept my paint.

It gave me something to do though. Sketch, erase, sketch, erase, sketch again, erase part of it, try and sketch more. So absorbed was I in this, that I didn't notice how much time went by. Or the presence of another angel.

It was a good thing the other angel was Bullra, or this would have been ridiculously embarrassing. That didn't stop me from being somewhat angry at him when he poked me in the shoulder.

"Brother! You swine! Warn me before you come to interrupt my sketching!"

"You almost never sketch. I believe that's our sister's shtick."

"Painting then. It's more than common for you to sneak up on me when I'm painting."

"But you're not painting now. You're sketching."

"And you are being a smart ass."

"I try my very best." By the light, sometimes I wanted to smack my brother.

"Onto a different subject, what are you doing?"

"Sketching." I smirked at him, and he reached over to swat at one of my auricles.

"I'm the smart ass, am I?"

"Yes, you are. But if you must know, I'm watching Imperius."

"...Tyrael?"

"Tyrael. He was originally watching big and fiery himself, but passed the vigil on to me."

"Ah. You told him about his angels? And Balzael?"

"Of course I did. We discussed the stone as well. I suggested Sanctuary to him, and then that he go to the Pools. Balzael wasn't headed that way, was he?" The angel wouldn't have any real reason to attack Tyrael, but I didn't think it would be good if they somehow came across each other while there. Tyrael had a habit of calling people out on things that should be kept secret for longer.

"I don't think so. He wasn't when I left."

"Which was when?"

"'Bout fifteen minutes ago."

"...How long had you been standing there?"

"Ten." We shared a moment of silence, thinking over events, and what was coming. We both knew that Diablo's attack had just been the beginning. Things were going to change.

"Hey," My brother spoke up once more. "Did Tyrael know anything 'bout Nepherah?" I winced slightly. Bullra had a habit of worrying himself and whichever of his siblings (usually me) was with him into exhaustion.

"He did not." I reached out with a tendril of my bright orange wings, and entwined it with my brother's slightly darker one. "But I'm sure she will be fine. She can take care of herself, and anyone she's with."

"I know. I just worry." He probably would have said more, if Imperius hadn't decided to wake up at that moment.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

** Imperius P.O.V**

For a few solid minutes, the only thing I was aware of was a monstrous headache. It honestly felt like my head was being battered with a sizable hammer. At first I tried to wait it out, but the pounding was growing worse and worse, and I had to do _something_.

Opening my eyes was a bad idea. So was trying to sit up. The brightness of Heaven made my headache _worse_, and trying to rise added a sense of nausea. With a slight groan, I lay back down. It didn't help anything much.

Then the voices were back.

"Uh, Brother? He's _awake_."

"I know."

I groaned again. It wasn't that their voices were loud or even high-pitched, it was just the noise in general. Couldn't they stop?

"Shouldn't we do something?"

"I think we're bugging him." Mercifully, they began to whisper lowly to each other after that statement.

"...Shouldn't we _do_ something?"

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Find someone?"

"Uh, yeah. Maybe go find Auriel? And then Tyrael?" Tyrael? Last time I talked to Trael, we had been arguing again...right? I felt a sense of dread as I realized that part of my memories seemed to be gone, or at least blocked off. I couldn't remember...I don't know what it is I can't remember, which can't possibly be a good thing.

"Er, yeah. Okay. I'll do that. You make sure he doesn't fall of the berth...or something..."

"Okay. Now go!"

I listened as one of the angels ran off, his footfalls quickly growing distant. I wondered why he didn't try and fly.

"Hey, uh, Imperius? Can you hear me?" The remaining angel asked quietly. "Nod if you can. Or twitch a finger. Or something." After a moment, I inclined my head somewhat, and waited to hear what the angel would say next.

"Ah, you heard! This is a good sign." I heard the shuffle of the angel moving closer. "I don't know if you remember me, but I am Nyllius. I work under Tyrael. My siblings, Bullra and Nepherah, they work under you." Ah. Nepherah's brothers. I remembered them quiet well. I nodded in understanding again.

"I expect Lady Auriel will be here soon. And then Tyrael. He was awfully worried about you." Really. Tyrael had been worried...about me? ...What was it I'd forgotten?

Let's see... Tyrael and I had been arguing...and it had ended with him... forsaking us? A brief spurt of Pandemonium among the angels, I brief moment of peace... then Diablo invaded. The Nephalem had saved us, and hung around afterward. My next memories were of Hell... and the Nephalem...and a frail, broken form curled in a prison of mirrors. We went after Inarius... no, _found_ him.

Now I was back in Heaven. I must have interacted with Tyrael at some point, and it had apparently made us friendly towards each other once more. That was nice. Yes, we tended to fight one-another, but there had been a time when we didn't. We had been what the mortals called best-friends. Above all else, I had cared for him.

I knew I was lying in the medical ward (it was rare for an angel to be laying anywhere else), but what I did not know was why. Perhaps the angel waiting patiently beside me would know.

"Nyllius?"

"Yes sir?"

"...What events led to my placement in the medical ward?" I felt the angel stiffen with surprise.

"You don't remember?" I was still for a moment, though had mt eyes been open I would have given him a dead-pan look.

"...Apologies, stupid question." Nyllius amended after a moment. "In the meeting with the Council, you were going to decide what to do with the stone. I don't know all of what happened, but you made physical contact with the Stone."

"So that's why my arm is numb..."

"Your arm is numb? This does not bode well..." A new voice, but one that had been very familiar to me for so very long spoke up. Auriel was here.

"Lady Auriel!" Nyllius snapped to attention.

"At ease angel." Hope murmured. She then asked him about what had happened in while he had been here.

Tuning them out, I instead focused on trying to open my eyes. Bit by bit, the world around me came into focus. I now knew how Tyrael felt when trying to sleep here. It was less than ideal for such actions...or rather, inaction.

Auriel then turned to get my attention, and though I tried to focus on her, for some reason my thoughts just kept drifting back to the mortal angel.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I'm sorry for such a short chapter, especially after such a long wait, but I really wanted this chapter posted. It just refused to get itself written, and summer is starting to pick up. It could be a long wait for the next chapter as well.

At first I was very dubious about doing a segment from an OC's P.O.V, but I didn't think anyone else really fit into the chapter. I also wanted to give Nyllius and Bullra some development. And I rewrote the top part so many times, it's not even funny.

Also, Auricles: Basically a fancy version of saying 'ears'. I didn't want to just call them ears, 'cause he's an angel and everything.


End file.
